Another Type of Alien Book 3: Dusk Before The Dawn
by Rapidfyrez
Summary: The invasion has begun. The Autobot Base lies in flaming ruins, the fortress of the Decepticons casting its shadow over Jasper. Jack has been captured by the cons, and the Autobots are scattered. Their only hope of rescuing their ally and defeating the cons, is in calling in allies. Allies they thought and hoped they would never need to call. Never have they been so wrong before.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Friends From The Neighborhood

_Autobot HQ…_

Arcee's servos moved across the terminal. She set the message to loop and sent it. She wasn't sure if they would be at base at the moment, so better safe than sorry. Stepping back from the terminal, she looked to Optimus and Ratchet.

"It's done. All we can do now is wait." she said. She walked away from the terminal and noted another feature of the base.

Small alcoves in the wall large enough for a bot to sit on. She couldn't help but smile at this. Weeks ago she'd complained rather absent mindedly to Jack about there being nowhere for the bots to sit in base except on the berths. Apparently he'd taken that to heart and put them in.

"Are you certain these other Autobots will be able to help us Arcee?" Ratchet asked, moving to the terminal. He began running his servos over the keys searching for their comrades.

She took a seat in one of the alcoves and looked up at him, "Completely. You never saw them in action Ratchet, but they could hold their own against a couple hundred cons easy. If anyone can help us bring down Darkmount, its them."

"Hmmm." Ratchet said and looked back at his terminal.

Optimus looked from Ratchet to the bridge, then the ground entrance, "Though they may be well trained, the recovery of our own team is just as vital." he stated.

Arcee nodded, "I know Optimus. Just… the longer we wait, the worse the situation for Jack and Kara will be." she said simply.

Before the Prime could respond though, the rumble of an engine echoed from the hall. Ratchets head whipped to the hall, Arcee stood from the alcove, and Optimus turned to the noise. A red sedan drove into base and Arcee realized it was June.

She came to a stop and shut off the car, opening the door. The woman stepped out, a tired feeling radiating off her and opened the rear door. Krypto hopped out, his tail hanging low. She stroked the dogs head and then looked up at the bots.

"Where's Jack… Where's Kara?" she asked, her voice sad, "Where are my children?" Krypto whined in agreement.

The trio bowed their heads, "Nurse Darby…" Optimus started, "I fear that… when Megatron assaulted our base, Kara and Jackson chose to stay behind… and buy us time to escape. Most likely they have been captured by the Decepticons."

June blinked once, trying and failing to clear the tears away, "They… captured?" she asked, her voice breaking.

She sat back on the edge of the seat of her car, holding a hand on the door. She took in a deep shuddering breath before looking back up, "What do you plan to do now then?" she asked. Her voice had grown firm and steady. Arcee had to admit, she was a strong woman when she needed to be.

"We've called in the Bots from Dusk's dimension." Arcee said, "Hopefully, they'll show soon, and be able to help."

The ground bridge sparked, and everyone looked to it. Another spark of white electricity arched, "Speak of the devil and he shall appear…" June murmured.

The white electricity continued to arch in more continuous bursts, until it seemed to be a large thunder storm had formed in the bridge. Slowly the energy began to twist with each arch until a large continuous swirl of was in the middle. It looked like a ground bridge except it glowed pure white and was far louder. Krypto padded nearer to the bridge, closer than the others. Perhaps too close, as the first two figures emerged.

Well more like tumbled out.

"Stop! OW! Whoa…whoaaaa!" and the two fell onto the floor of the bridge. One was a girl about twenty or twenty-one with olive colored skin, sea green eyes, and light brown hair with honey highlights and an orange streak running through her bangs. She was about medium height and build, so no taller than June was. Amber, Dusks _other _Miko in their dimension. She took one look at Krypto, let out a squeak of fear and scooted back.

The other figure was a young man about the same height and build as Amber with fair skin, hazel brown eyes, and brown hair that appeared silvery in a certain light. He looked to be in his twenties. Sean, the male version of Miko for all intensive purposes.

He groaned and rubbed his head before looking up at Krypto "Dear Primus, what do your masters _feed _you!?" He yelped sitting upright.

Krypto whined and lowered his head apologetically.

"Sean!"Amber reprimanded, hands on her hips, "Be nice!"

Two more figures emerged, coming to a stop as they saw Krypto "Whoa…" a boy who looked _very _similar to Raf breathe. He just seemed a tad older.

"Dude…that dog is huge!" a Miko look alike whispered, amber eyes wide as she saw Krypto.

Amber got to her feet and helped Sean up to. It was at this time that Krypto decided to investigate these strange new visitors. His first two, Sean and Amber, who he began sniffing at with great curiosity, the shield dangling from his collar as he did.

Guys…"Amber started, "That's Kal and Kara's shield…"

"Maybe he belongs to them?" Sean asked, holding out his hand, shakily for the dog to sniff, "Nice doggie…Good b-boy,"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, June couldn't help but laugh a little. This was the typical reaction people had to Krypto. She stepped forward out of the car.

"It's alright Sean, Krypto is perfectly friendly." She told them.

As if to prove a point, Krypto proceeded to bathe Sean's head with his tongue, causing his hair to stick up with saliva.

"Ugh!" Sean whined, "Seriously? I just got a bath by Sirius before we got here!"

And it was then that the sound of thunderous footsteps echoed through the universal ground bridge. Everyone looked back in time to see the _other _Optimus walk through, followed by his mate Elita-1 AKA June Darby.

This Optimus though, looked much different than the Optimus Arcee and June knew. He was taller, by heads and shoulders, and his body was much thicker built. His armor seemed more Cybertronian, and a large pack was strapped to his back. Arcee and June both knew this was a jetpack.

Elita bore a close resemblance to Arcee in many ways, same body type similar armor except she differed in several areas. Her entire armor for one was rosy red, except her faceplate which was white. Several streaks of white dotted her armor, and her helm was more complex than Arcee's with two wings that spread from it. Unlike her sister, she had red lips instead of pink, and pure blue eyes.

It was Ratchet who spoke first, "Optimus? What in the all spark happened to you!?"

Optimus II looked to the medic, "A set of circumstances I assume are similar to the ones that lead you to your own situation Ratchet." he replied.

It was then that Optimus made himself known, stepping forward. "Yet I have remained the same. It would appear that circumstances differ in this universe." he stated.

The kids and Elita looked between the two Primes, a little surprised by how different and yet similar they looked. Though Optimus II had no scars to speak of on his faceplate.

Optimus extended his servo, "Optimus Prime, a pleasure to meet you."

Optimus II met his the greeting, "Optimus Prime, the pleasure is mine."

"So what's the situation?" Elita asked.

"It would best if the rest of your time were to arrive before then, so that we only need to explain the situation once." Optimus said.

"Of course." Optimus II said in agreement, "They should be arriving shortly."

The next pair through where Ratchet II and a blue bot, his assistant Jolt.

"Oh no." Amber moaned as the two Ratchets looked at each other, "There's _two _of them!"

Both Ratchets ignored her, "And who is this?" Ratchet asked his counterpart, motioning to Jolt.

"Jolt," the blue bot answered, holding out his servo, "I'm well, your assistant in our universe, and Ben's guardian."

"Ben?" Ratchet asked.

"You'll meet him soon."

"This is going to get confusing," Sean muttered under his breath looking at the counterparts.

"What's going to be confusing?" a yellow mech asked as he emerged with a silver mech and a very familiar mech with a blue and yellow paint job instead of his old white and blue one.

"Whoa," Smokescreen said, looking at the two Primes, "Déjà vu anyone?"

"Smokey!" Amber cried.

"What?" he protested.

"Not even ten seconds in a parallel dimension and I already have reason to bring out my wrench," Ratchet II threatened glaring at the three,

"I swear it wasn't me and Sunny this time!" 'Sides protested, raising his servos as his twin mirrored him.

"They're not causing trouble already are they?" Arcee asked as she, Bulkhead, 'Bee and Wheeljack came through.

"Why do they always assume it's us?" Sunny asked.

"There's a reason why Ratchet calls you the Spawns of Unicron," Jolt pointed out.

"And two is going to become three I fear," Ratchet II sighed.

"But…" Ratchet stuttered, "Smokescreen…you're…alive?"

"Yeah…why wouldn't I be?" he asked.

The other medic rubbed his helm, apparently realizing he had made a mistake… The humans and bots looked at Ratchet confused. As if to ask, why would he think Smokescreen was dead?

"Well…um…you see…" Ratchet started.

"I fear that our Smokescreen has since passed during my duel with Megatron over the Omega Keys," Optimus said, "We were unable to recover the body,"

There was a stunned silence from everyone. "Wait…my counterpart…" Smokey started, "he's…"

A nod from the Prime was all he got.

"Who did it," Amber asked softly.

Optimus turned to her.

"Who murdered Smokescreen," she snarled, louder.

"Megatron did," Arcee explained, sadly, "He managed to get a hold of the Key, but he used that Dark Star Saber of his to stun him then he…finished him," She shuttered her optics, forget the horrible horrible memory of Smokescreens death.

Amber started to tremble and clenched her fists, "That… That…" she growled.

"Uh oh," Sean started, backing away a bit.

"THAT PIT STAINED PIECE OF SLAG!" I shrieked, "THAT FRAGGING SON OF A GLITCH! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THAT AFTHOLE I'LL…I'LL…!"

Smokescreen grabbed her gently and held her up to his spark. "Amber," he said, "That's enough."

"IT COULD HAVE BEEN YOU!" she screamed, sobbing into his armor, "It could have been you…we all thought you died! Smokey…I…I…"

"I know," he murmured, "I know,"

Sunstreaker used a servo to rub the girls back, a sad look on his faceplate. "First Sunny…" Amber choked, "Then I almost lost you…then this Smokey…"

"Amber, it's ok," Sunny said, "We're fine, see? We're here,"

"That's another thing that's got me confused," Arcee said, "Dusk told me that you and Sideswipe were dead,"

The twins looked at each other.

"Eh heh, about that…" Sunny started.

"It'd be better if Dusk explained," 'Sides said, "Put it this way…we were and now we aren't,"

"Just like me," A red horned mech said as he exited the bridge. He came to a stop next to Arcee II.

Arcee's optics widened."Cliff?" she asked, not able to believe what she was seeing, "Is that you?"

"Know any other 'Bot this good lookin'?" he asked.

Arcee II gently smacked him upside the head.

"Ok," he mumbled, rubbing his helm, "I deserved that,"

"I…we thought you were…" Arcee couldn't finish the sentence. The memories were too painful.

"We had thought you passed." Optimus finished for her. She nodded in agreement. This was all too much for her. She loses Jack, the base, and now her former partner was back from the dead. It was too much for one femme to take.

"Well again, best to let Dusk explain it, it's pretty complicated." Cliffjumper said with a shrug.

Arcee put a servo to her head as she felt herself nearly glitch, "I'm… just going to go sit down." she said, and made her way to one of the alcoves.

Two more figures emerged, Ben and Dusk. Ben was a tall, tanned skinned youth with a muscular build and emerald green eyes. He had dark brown, almost black hair and appeared to be in his twenties.

Dusk was of a tall, slender build, with milk-white skin, and a thin crescent moon shaped scar curved under her left eye. A black, burn-like glyph tattoo arm was etched into her left arm, and a metallic silver Autobot insignia was on her right arm. Odd glyphs trailed up her neck to directly under the scar. She had two large wings sprouting from her back, both of which were black tipped and faded to a dusty gold.

Krypto almost immediately went over to investigate the new arrivals.

"Whoa!" Ben yelped as Krypto padded over and started sniffing them, "I did not know you guys had a dog that big." Krypto licked him.

"He's bigger than Sirius." Dusk said rather shocked. Speak of the devil.

A big black dog padded through the portal, with shaggy black hair. His presence _immediately _took Kryptos attention and he practically bounded over to the dog, his tail clocking into overdrive. The two dogs started sniffing at each other, though Sirius seemed a bit confused the more he sniffed Krypto. Krypto for his part was just happy to meet another dog.

He would have remained incredibly happy… until the final figure walked through. He looked nearly exactly like Jack, except he was shorter and lankier than the Kryptonian. He was Ultimus Prime, son of Optimus II and Elita-1.

Krypto's head shot towards the boy, and he looked at him unmoving. Except for a slight tremble, he didn't move, instead staring at the young Prime intently.

Ultimus for his part, was smart enough not to move. He was not smart enough not to speak.

"Ugh…." he started. That was all he said.

Krypto bared his teeth and began snarling at Ultimus. Loudly. Every head snapped to the dog and Prime. Krypto began circling around Ultimus, still snarling at the boy. He didn't move at all. Krypto snapped his jaws at Ultimus, causing him to flinch. The dog narrowed his blue eyes. This was not his master. It was an imposter in human skin.

Luckily for Ultimus, June was there, "Krypto! Heel!" she yelled. The dog continued to glare at Ultimus.

"Krypto…" June repeated in a warning tone.

Krypto's lips lowered and he straightened up. Ultimus relaxed for a brief moment. Then Krypto lunged forward and snapped his jaws in front of Ultimus with an audible _snap._ Ultimus let out an _eep _and stumbled back.

Krypto nodded once and trotted away, his head held high and his tail wagging triumphantly. He had made his point quiet well. He didn't get that far though.

Suddenly, a high pitched gasp sounded from the bridge, followed by an even higher pitched squeal.

"PUPPY!" came a sweet little girl's voice… And a little, blonde blur shot out of the bridge and clomped the husky around its neck.

Ultimus looked at the blonde little girl hanging from a very confused Kryptos neck and giggling, a confused look on his own face as he mouthed the word 'puppy' as if he couldn't believe he'd said that.

"Avalon!" a much deeper voice yelled. The voice was intense but at the same time kind. The voice of a Prime.

A tall youth walked through the bridge. He had copper colored hair with streaks of gold running through it, and midnight blue eyes specked with what appeared to be silver like glyphs in his iris.

He was ripped to say the least. He had a Slender build like Dusk…but his arms were thickly muscled baring a resemblance to Jacks own physique. Lanky, but very well toned and muscled. But his wings were probably his most striking physical feature other than his voice. But this lads wings were massive. Each one was possibly twice ten feet in length when stretched to their fullest. The primaries and secondary feathers were pure, snowy white while the covert feathers were a brilliant bronze color. Put simply, they were utterly stunning.

Avalon, apparently the little seven year old, paid this young man no mind. Instead the little, ash blond, silver-blue eyed, angel-white winged, seven year old Halfling paid no attention to him. She instead was repeatedly nuzzling Kryptos neck while the poor war hound looked utterly shocked by this. Like he had _no _idea what to do with the small child around his massive neck.

Sirius let out an almost jealous bark. Seems he didn't like Krypto getting all the attention. Krypto looked at Sirius apologetically and lowered his neck trying to get Avalon to let go.

June meanwhile looked at Dusk and Ben as they walked up. Ultimus skirted Krypto, who was still distracted by the girl.

"Friends of yours?" June asked, referring to the young man and little girl.

"Family." Dusk said simply.

June proceeded to look up at Elita and Optimus, "Not ours." Elita explained, "They're her biological family."

"I see." June said before smiling as Krypto looked at her helplessly.

"Alright boy, set the girl down and come on back." she called.

Avalon let out a disappointed whine at that and reluctantly let go. Krypto padded back over to June, not before flicking Ultimus in the head with his tail.

"Ow!" he yelped, rubbing his head, "Alright, what is that dogs problem?" he demanded.

Krypto sat on his haunches next to June, never taking his eyes off Ultimus. She stroked his shaggy head, "He's a war hound. It's in his nature to be over protective."

"Overprotective? War hound? What?" Amber asked, scratching her head.

Arcee took over explaining, "Krypto isn't an Earth dog. He's a Kryptonian Warhound, which according to Kara, are fiercely loyal to their masters and their 'pack'."

June scratched under his chin and his tail thumped happily, "He probably thinks you're an imposter pretending to be Jack. That's why he doesn't like you."

"Great." Ultimus moaned, "As if Kal and I hadn't had enough problems last time, even his dog doesn't like me."

"Once we…" June paused for a moment and took a shuddering breath, "Once Jack is rescued, Krypto should warm right up to you."

"Yeah about that." Dusk started, looking up at Arcee, "You said in your message that Kal and Kara were captured by cons and that the base was destroyed." she looked around the base, "It looks pretty intact to me."

"This is not our original base." Optimus explained. Those three looked at Optimus for the first time since arriving. The shock at his appearance, most likely the scar, was evident.

"It is a secondary outpost designed and built by Jackson and Kara in case of an event just like this." Optimus continued.

"They both designed and built this place?" Ben asked looking around at the base, taking in the details.

"Well Kara did." Arcee said, "Science and math was… never Jacks strong suit." her optics glazed for a moment as she remembered how often the teen complained about math homework and Kara's attempts to help him. All of which ended in failure.

She shook herself, "Point is, the base isn't complete yet, and can't be without them. Lot of the tech is Kryptonian, which means we can't finish _everything _without Kara." Arcee finished.

"Okay got it." Several of the new arrivals said at once.

Optimus II turned to his double, "How did these events occur though?" he asked.

"I assume you know of the Omega Keys, and by extension the Omega Lock?" Optimus responded. Several bots and humans shuddered. Dusk, Ultimus, and Bee looked at Optimus II sadly.

"Yes, we do."

"Then you may know most of the circumstances surrounding the loss of Outpost Omega." Optimus said.

"But wait, Kal and Kara were strong enough to take on Draconus." Dusk said frowning, "How did the cons manage to overwhelm you? Let alone get a hold of any of the keys."

Optimus looked to Arcee who merely bowed her helm, the guilt overwhelming her spark, "When Optimus found the Star Saber, and Alpha Trion told him of the Keys… We spent the next few days searching for them. I was so caught up in it, that I forgot to tell Jack." she didn't want to mention that she was afraid to.

"So in the end, he found out when _our _Smokescreen told him about them." looks were exchanged, several at Smokescreen himself.

"I take it he wasn't happy to be kept out of the loop?" Ultimus asked.

Arcee looked directly at him, "Furious is more like it. We had a fight." she lowered her helm again, "We both said some nasty things to each other and… we never saw him again after that, least not until the cons had built their fortress on our doorstep."

She looked to June, "I'm so sorry June. I couldn't keep that promise. Jack disappeared because of me. This whole situation is because of me."

Everyone looked between the femme and the woman, not sure what to expect. June had stopped scratching Krypto by this point, and the dog had padded off to Ratchets tool bench. Much to the medics anger.

June let out a sigh, "Let's get my children back first Arcee. Then we'll talk about the whole situation." she said.

Arcee just nodded. She was dreading that time when it came. Jack being in the cons custody was her fault. June would have a few choice words for her, she just knew it.

"So what happens now?" Miko II asked, "I mean, do we go looking for the rest of the bots or… what?" she looked at Optimus and Optimus II.

Neither Prime had time to answer, as the low roar of a jet sounded through the air entrance. Arcee looked to the hall. It was probably Starscream… Oh Primus it was probably Starscream!

She stood, "Optimus we need to-" she was cut off by the roar of a jet. A large blue jet flew into base, flying up for a brief moment.

A gravelly voice shouted, "Transform!" and the jet broke apart and reassembled into the seeker Starscream. He hit the ground with a thud, kneeling in place.

Most of his armor was navy blue, with red highlights. He had two wings sprouting from his shoulder, and a jet nose cone placed in front of his chest. Two more fins sprouted from his lower legs, and two large cannons were folded onto his back. But his most striking feature was his faceplate. A black square helm covered his head, and his faceplate was a pale red. His optics were covered in grey glass, making it impossible to see where he was focusing.

Dusk and her team noticed none of this. What they instead focused on, was the two Decepticon insignias engraved into his wings. Every bot that didn't know who he was raised their blasters at him.

Starscream stood and looked at them with an amused expression on his faceplate. He looked to Arcee, "I seem to be feeling a case of déjà vu." he rasped.

"Don't move con!" Cliffjumper ordered.

Starscream looked directly at the mech before ignoring him and looking to Optimus. He walked over, and unsheathed his sword. The blasters started to hum.

Once more the seeker ignored them and knelt before Optimus, "I apologize for my late arrival Optimus Prime." he started, "I made certain to find the others before heading here to ensure their safe arrival."

The confused looks on the new arrivals faceplates was priceless. Optimus nodded, "In these tense times, such precaution is commendable. But we have been over this Starscream. There is no need to bow."

Now _that _got a few reactions, "Whoa whoa whoa!" Smokescreen said, "You have a con on your side? You have _Starscream _on your side!?" the mech looked like he couldn't believe what he saw/heard.

Starscream rose and looked at Smokescreen, "It would appear that even his counterpart is an over eager claude." he muttered before answering, "Yes, the Autobots have a Decepticons turncoat in their ranks. Yes I share the same name as that _pathetic _coward that you know. No I am nothing like him, nor ever have been like him."

The bots looked amongst themselves unsure. Optimus reassured them, "This Starscream hales from a dimension different to both of ours where the war still rages and is fought over a different resource. He has long since proven himself as an ally and friend, there is no need for hostility."

"So…now that we aren't on a fight to the death basis…" Sean started, turning to Screamer, "You said you found the others…where are they now?"

"And how long until they arrive?" Dr. Williams asked.

Starscream looked down at the two humans, and perhaps by instinct they backed away slightly. If he was offended, he didn't let it show.

"Two of the Autobots should be arriving any minute now." he answered before looking back at Optimus, "They were the only two I could find… I am sorry Optimus." he said bowing his helm.

As if on cue, two engines rumbled through the _other _entrance. A large green SUV and a primarily yellow Urbana 500 with black highlights rumbled into base. The two stopped and their doors opened, letting their respective charges out.

Raf held his laptop under his arm, as per usual, and wore a rather grim expression on his face. Until he saw the other bots and his own counterparts. Then he stopped dead, a confused look on his face.

Miko emerged from her guardian, head bowed. Of the two, she looked very… depressed at the moment. Which made sense to Arcee. The base had just been destroyed and two of her closest friends had been lost.

She ignored the counterparts, or didn't notice them, instead looking at Optimus.

"Did they make it?" she asked hopefully, "Jack and Kara, did they manage to escape?"

Optimus bowed his helm, "No… I fear the Decepticons have both of them in their custody." he murmured softly.

Miko clenched her hands and eyes, hanging her head. Bulkhead transformed and _would _have moved to comfort her. Until he saw the air around her shimmering. Then he promptly took a step back, Bumblebee doing the same, both ignoring the disappointed looks from their counterparts. They didn't know what was about to happen. Bulkhead especially knew. Miko had been holding this in for a few days now, it was about time she let it out.

The girl whirled to face the wall and screamed as loud as she could. That said, an entire chunk of the wall proceeded to shatter and every bot and human in base covered their ears or audios. The noise was so loud that had anyone been caught in the blast, there was no guarantee they'd be able to hear.

As quick as she started, Miko stopped screaming and merely stood there panting slightly. Still panting she looked back at Optimus, "How are we getting them back?" she demanded.

"Even at full strength we would be unable to assault the Decepticon fortress." Optimus told her and then looked at the new arrivals, "Which is why we brought in reinforcements." he finished.

Miko looked at them for the first time and her eyes went wide.

"They're…they're the ones from the other dimension…where Jack went?" she asked, "Aren't they,"

Optimus gave a nod before turning to Optimus II.

"Would you introduce your team to us once again?" he asked.

"I would be honored," came their Optimus' reply.

The 'Bots and humans who them yet looked at the massive Prime in shock. "What happened to you?" Bulkhead asked "Er, I mean, sir?" he corrected.

Optimus II gave a small smile before it disappeared, "As I have already told your medic and your leader, a similar fate to what happened to your Jasper and your Base happened to our own," he said, "But as you can see…our predicament was far more…severe. I was badly damaged and near the point of death, I was revived by the Forge of Solus Prime and reformatted as my former frame was too badly damaged to survive,"

He put up a servo as Miko opened her mouth, "The time for questions will come later," Optimus said, "Now is the time for you to get to know my team, as you very well know your own,"

He turned to Elita, "This is Elita One, my mate and the mother of our son, who you will be introduced to…very soon. She is the eldest sister of Arcee and Chromia, who at the moment is in our own dimension, defending from that side in case our enemy is there,"

Elita and Arcee II both gave a soft smile and a nod to the assembly. Optimus II turned to Ratchet II and Jolt.

"You all know Ratchet in your own world, but his assistant you may not," Optimus II said.

The lightning blue mech knelt down gracefully. "I'm Jolt," he said, "I'm Ben's guardian and the brains behind the operation,"

That raised a laugh from all assembled bots, though Ratchet II seemed slightly he offended. He rapped Jolt on the side of his helm with a wrench. Smokescreen, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker walked up next to introduce themselves.

Optimus II started to say something but was cut off by Miko, who was looking at the mech in dumbfounded shock.

"Smokey?" she asked, her voice cracking, "You're…"

"Alive?" Smokey said, "Yeah…we…kinda went over that. Sorry about your guys' loss,"

"He's calmer than the other one," 'Bee whirred out.

The other Bee flinched at this for some reason, Ultimus and Dusk looking at him sadly. A mental conversation almost seemed to pass between them. No one but Arcee and June noticed, but it wasn't worth questioning in the end.

"Might be the part that he has a charge," Arcee suggested at Bee's statement.

Team Prime, or those who'd just arrived anyway, widened their eyes and optics with shock. Smokescreen merely crossed his arms and Amber suppressed a giggle.

"Yes, I have a charge," Smokescreen grumbled, "Optimus thought it would help me learn human culture…and she has,"

He picked Amber up again.

"Amber Robertson here, is my charge," he said, as Amber waved from up high.

"She was mine, Noob," Sunny objected, taking Amber from Smokey before turning to the crowd, "Name's Sunstreaker, prankster extraordinaire, most awesome and handsome front liner in the galaxy…"

"Not to mention the most vain and the one with the biggest head," 'Sides countered.

Sunstreaker sighed, "And this here is my annoying prat of a twin, Sideswipe,"

'Sides shook his helm as he cuffed his twin over the head. Team Prime watched the short exchange with amusement.

"As my twin said, I'm Sideswipe, but most call me 'Sides," he said, "I'm also a frontliner, prankster, but Dusk was my charge,"

"Was?" Bulkhead II asked.

"Optimus is now…he kinda took over when I…off lined," 'Sides muttered 'off lined' so soft that it was barely audible.

"But…that's another story" he continued, "…let's get back to intros, right Prime?"

Optimus II nodded and looked at Wheeljack, Bulkhead and 'Bee.

"Name's Wheeljack," the white Wrecker shrugged, "Wrecker and Sean's Guardian,"

"And you already know Bulkhead and Bumblebee," Optimus II continued. The two waved at Miko and Raf.  
Raf raised a curious eyebrow. "Why is your 'Bee black with yellow highlights?" he asked, looking at his guardians counterpart. Bumblebee II motioned to Optimus II. Raf turned his attention to the Prime.

"When the Base was destroyed, the Decepticons attempted to track us all down, Bumblebee thought it wise to change his color so that he could keep Rafael safe as they traveled. It worked quite admirably. So much so that Smokescreen followed his lead," Optimus explained.

"Ok, so know we know who all your 'Bots are…" Raf said, "Are you going to introduce us to your human team?"

"Why not?" Dr. Williams shrugged, "I'll go first then. I'm Dr. Miranda Williams, former field medic for NEST and currently a doctor at Jasper Medical Center. I'm also Ben's mother,"

Amber waved from her position from Sunny's shoulder."I'm Amber, as you know, aspiring drummer, honorary Wrecker, best friend to Dusk and Ben and Sean," she called.

"I thought we got past that phase?" Sean asked, a slightly hurt expression on his face.

"Wait, you actually made it official?" Dusk asked, shocked, "When!?"

"Right before we left home," Amber quipped, "Sorry, Sean, still kinda getting used to us being an item now," she apologized.

Sean rolled his eyes jokingly and turned to the new people."Name's Sean, inventor, photographer, Amber's boyfriend, and also Honorary Wrecker," Sean said.

"Do I hear a British accent?" Miko asked, excitement obvious in her voice. She might be a bit upset over Jack and Kara's capture, but she was still Miko.

"Dude! Where are you from?" she hopped up and down a little.

"London," Sean shrugged, "Lived there 'til I was eighteen and then went traveling with Jackie after he saved my life when my dad was killed by 'Cons,"

He waved his hand as Miko opened her mouth to question him again."I'd rather not talk about it, please," he finished. She nodded, realizing it was a bad question to ask.

"Well, you already know the three of us," our Miko said as she gestured at her, Ultimus and Raf, "Since we _are_ you guys pretty much," she added

"Actually…there's one they might not know," Raf II countered, looking at Ultimus.

"Oh, right!" Miko II groaned, smacking her head, "Jack?"

"You're Ultimus, aren't you?" Raf asked the young Prime. The resemblance between the two was uncanny, even if he was skinnier and shorter than their Jack, "Our Jack said he had a counterpart…but the only thing we got out of him was that your name was Ultimus,"

"Wait…he didn't really tell you about him?" Miko II asked as Ultimus elbowed her softly.

"Miko, I would really like to stay away from what happened the last time," Ultimus growled, his voice growing deeper with authority. A voice Miko had seen their Jack use during emergency situations.

"What does she mean?" 'Bee asked, "And why does he have a name like that?"

Raf started to translate when Ultimus responded instead.

"I have a name like that because I was given it, Bumblebee," he answered.

Ever bot looked at him stunned. Dusk grinned, "They were really not expecting you to translate that…were they?" she snickered at him.

"H-how did you…?" Raf stuttered. Only Kara had understood Bee at that point.

"Understand him?" Ultimus asked, a sheepish smile gracing his face, "I might as well tell you,"  
He looked at his team and shrugged. They all stepped back away from him and his form flickered softly. He seemed to grow until he was nearly thirty feet tall and looked almost exactly like Optimus. Except his armor was silver and blue and his faceplate looked like Jacks face…. minus the nose.

"Allow me to introduce myself," Ultimus said with a slight bow, "My real name is Ultimus Prime, son of Optimus Prime and Elita One,"

Miko and Raf's eyes were huge and their mouths dropped open. A very similar reaction to when June and Arcee had met the doppelganger the first time.

"You're Boss 'Bot's son!?" Miko II demanded, hands on hips.

Ultimus nodded and his form flickered as he returned to his human form.

"So…does that mean that you're adopted?" Raf asked. It only made sense, given how Jack was adopted in their universe.

"No he is not," Elita said as she too joined her son in human form, "I'm still June, but Jack's Legacy, a gift that only Primes have, turned me human when I crash landed on Earth the day he was born. He can manipulate his and anyone around him forms,"

"If he can do that…can he do something else besides human and 'Bot?" Miko asked.

Ultimus shuddered. "Once and only once," he said, "Never again,"

Elita scowled and put her hands on her hips "When was this!?" She demanded.

"Long time ago when I was still figuring out my gift," he answered, "I will not go into detail about that…why don't we just continue with intros please?"

He turned to Ben. "I think it's your turn now?" he asked.

Ben shrugged and gave a wave. "My name is Ben Castora. I have a different last name than my mom because I held on to my Dad's name after he died," Ben said, "I'm Jack…Ultimus…Miko and Raf's engineering teacher. I'm also Dusk's fiancé,"

A warm feeling spread through Arcee's spark at this news "You two finally got together?" Arcee asked, smiling, "Congratulations, when is the big day?"

"Actually…it was a few hours ago," Dusk replied sadly. Ben kissed her head, "Our wedding was interrupted,"

Her smile faded and her winglets drooped "By me…Dusk…I'm so sorry," Arcee said.

"No!" Dusk corrected, "It wasn't you…it was a…family…issue,"

"More like murdering traitor issue," The _other_ winged lad said.

"X," Dusk reprimanded.

He shrugged.

"Yeah, so you guys must have already guessed," Dusk said looking back to Raf and Miko, "I'm Dusk, also known as Skyfyre Prime or Skyfyre Ivorra…I'm a Halfling, half human, half Cybreian, which is another dimension's version of a Cybertronian. I'm also the Crown Princess of Cybres,"

The bots looked at her questioningly, but she waved them off "Questions later, guys," Dusk said, "We've got two more to introduce,"

She turned to X and Avalon.

The one known as X came forwards, gently guiding Avalon with him. The girl hid behind him as he stopped, she grabbed his wing and pulled it over in front of her shyly.

X gave a curt bow "I am Xavier Greyman, but you can call me X…since it is quicker to say than my birth name," Xavier said, "I am Dusk's eldest brother. And this little one…," he frowned looking at Avalon hiding behind his leg, "who will not let go of my leg, is Avalon, the youngest of mine and Dusk's family,"

Avalon peeked out at the mention of her name, saw the people staring at her and immediately ducked back behind X. Everyone suppressed the urge to go 'aw' at that.

There was a cough and everyone looked at Miko II, "Okay, now that intro's are out of the way," she looked at her counterpart, "How did you do _that!" _she pointed at the shattered wall.

Miko tilted her head to the side, "That?" she jerked her thumb at the rubble, "You mean you can't do that?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"No I can't do that!" Miko II yelled, throwing her hands in the air, "If I could, that would be awesome! So spill." she ordered.

Miko raised her hands defensively, "Don't need to yell at me. Anyway, the reason I can do _that," _she pointed at the rubble again, "Was because of a little accident with a relic. You guys familiar with the resonance blaster?" she asked.

Wheeljack shuddered, "Yes." he muttered.

"Well Jack and Krypto came across a con dig a few weeks back, fought their way through, then came back with the resonance blaster. Though I think Krypto liked chewing on Soundwaves tentacle more." she laughed.

Ultimus looked at the massive white dog, who was gnawing on one of Ratchets wrenches. Tooth imprints lined the wrench, and Krypto stopped for a moment, his eyes flicking up at Ultimus. He bit his fangs into the metal with ease, and proceeded to tear a chunk off before swallowing it whole. The whole time he glared at the Prime, who proceeded to gulp.

"Anyway," Miko continued, "I got a _little _too close to the blaster, and… well…. it blew up in my face." she shuddered at the memory of it.

"But when I woke up." Miko said, smiling, "I accidently found out that I could do things like that. I call it a sonic scream."

"You almost ruptured our audio receptors too." Ratchet grumbled angrily.

"I told you it was an accident!" she protested, "I couldn't control my powers at the time."

Ratchet snorted and shook his helm. Miko glared at him, or more specifically the wrench lying behind him. She flung her hand out, and a wave of sound shot out, bounced off the wall behind him and hit the wrench, knocking the medic in the helm with it.

Miko blew on the tip of her finger, "I can also shoot sound waves from any part of my body. Even make shields for short times."

"Okay, that is so not fair!" Miko II whined, "Why does she get the super powers and I don't!?" she demanded.

"You wear the Apex Armor." Ultimus deadpanned at her.

"But that's not the-" Miko II was interrupted as a deep roar echoed through the tunnel.

It took a moment for Arcee to recognize the noise, "Oh this ought to be interesting." she murmured.

Team Prime II looked at her confused, but had no time to say anything. A _huge _black motorcycle with no rider rumbled into base. It was easily twice as large as Arcee's alt form, and looked more like a chopper with large wheels and two large headlights at the front. It was a model to match the roar that emanated from its pitch black engine.

Then it transformed.

The metal shifted and spiraled upwards, reforming into a towering femme who stood as tall as Optimus Prime himself. Her entire body was covered in layers of black plates, each one as black as the void of space. On her right shoulder pad a silver Autobot emblem shone proudly. Two large silver horn rose up and curved inwards, and a long metal braid cascaded down her back, stopping just at her upper thighs. Her servos were clawed and her faceplate…

Once, it might have been beautiful by bot standards. Now though… It was a pure white faceplate, covered in dozens of scars and weld marks, as if her face had been torn apart and welded back together. She lacked the more obvious lips of most femmes, hers being thinner and a pale silver. Two platinum optics narrowed and scanned the room. They stopped at Optimus.

Narrowing them further, the femme stormed over to Optimus, ignoring everyone else in the room. Optimus opened his mouth to say something, but never got a word out. Void proceeded to smack him. Hard. So hard that sparks flew from the impact.

Optimus reeled from the blow, and everyone's weapons shifted. Everyone but those who knew Voidwalker in any sense.

"Don't you ever do that again Optimus Prime!" She roared angrily. The Prime managed to get back to his pedes only for Void to grip his chestplate's, and pull him in, pressing her scarred lips to his for several moments. The silence in the base was deafening.

Ultimus' jaw nearly hit the floor before he hastily averted his gaze, his face turning bright red.

"Ew!" Avalon squeaked before X covered her eyes.

Dusk looked paler than normal and Elita closed an optic, turning towards Optimus II. The Prime stood there like he was carved from stone. No expression whatsoever. The kiss went on for several more moments…then minutes…

Until Optimus cleared his throat softly."Would you care to introduce us to your…friend, Optimus?" he asked.

Void broke the kiss while Optimus stood there, a hilariously stunned look on his faceplate. Clearly he had _not _expected this. Voidwalker looked at Optimus II, her faceplate unreadable.

She put a servo on her hip, "You may call me Voidwalker. And judging by the assembled bots, I would assume that you are the Autobots from the alternate dimension that Kal-El mentioned when I first arrived here." she said simply.

"We are," Optimus II replied, "Though Kal failed to mention-"

"That there was another femme in his Prime's life." Elita interrupted, her servos on her hips. One word could describe the situation. Awkward.

Though if Void was at all embarrassed or caught off guard by Elitas blunt statement, she didn't show it. If anything, she almost looked satisfied by the kiss she'd stolen from Optimus.

"I was not on Earth during the time that Kal was sent to your dimension." Void explained, "And likely would have never known of it, had he not referred to his behavior when meeting me as 'pulling an Ultimus'." she looked at Ultimus, whose face was still red, "I assume you are Ultimus." it wasn't a question.

"Ugh…yeah." he said, rubbing his head nervously, "Exactly what did he tell you?"

"That you are a Prime." Void said, before eyeing him as if she were measuring him, whether that is true though, remains to be seen."

There were various looks directed at Void, ranging from confused to… threatening. But she ignored them, instead moving to the terminal, "I suggest we prep for battle. My charge is in Decepticon servos, and I don't intend to let her stay that way."

"Whoa wait," Dusk said, finally finding her voice, _"You're _Kara's guardian?" she asked in shock.

Void typed in a few commands, "I am." she pressed one more, and suddenly the ground Miko and Raf stood on shifted. Several triangular pieces of flooring seemed to cave in, before shifting backwards into the ground. A large circular table rose up from the ground, and a holographic screen flashed across the middle.

Void walked over to it, and pressed a servo on a panel. A large 3-D scale model of Darkmount materialized, "And I intend to ensure that my charge is brought home safely."

**A/N: And so it begins. Apologies to all the followers out there, Elhini and I had internet troubles, hence why this took so long, but now… the crossover has started, and boy you guys are in for a **_**treat**_**. But in the mean time, what did you think? Good, bad, meh? Was it a good way to start off the story? I know it wasn't very action oriented like the first chapter in our last crossover, but did you think it was a good way to kick it off? All these questions and more you can answer in the reviews. PM Elhini and I with questions related to the chapter, or ideas for later chapters. We don't bite. Much.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Assault on Darkmount

_Autobot HQ…_

The 3-D holographic model shimmered in the middle of the massive circular table that Raf now unintentionally stood on. Miko looked up at him and grinned. She flicked her arms down, and with a boom, was propelled up onto the table next to her friend, landing gracefully next to him. Miko II crossed her arms and grumbled to herself.

Every bot gathered around the table as Void and Optimus examined the model, "According to initial scans of the fortress," Optimus started, "There are three primary entrances."

He pointed at the top by the cannons, and they were highlighted in bright green.

"Here."

He pointed at the thick base of the fortress, above what appeared to be a large pit of some sort.

"Here."

He pointed at a small entrance at the bottom of the base.

"And here."

Optimus II examined the three points, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Had we more troops with air based vehicle modes, we could attempt to go for the cannons, resistance would be weakest there."

Void shook her head, "No, Megatron's air defenses have recently seen a large bolster in numbers with a new shock troop."

She pressed a few keys in and the hologram was replaced with the new cons. Team Prime II looked at the cons with morbid fascination.

"These troops bare resemblance to the Seeker Armada Megatron had access to in our own dimension." Optimus II commented, "Yet they are different."

"That's because they aren't seekers." Starscream said, leaning on the table with his servos.

Everyone looked to the Con turncoat, "During my expedition looking for Bulkhead and Bumblebee, I discovered that these new troops are in fact, triple changers." he explained.

There were looks of concern between everyone assembled. Triple changers, a robot mode, a flight mode, and a ground mode.

"This complicates things." Elita said, looking at the 3-D model.

"As if these things weren't hard enough to off line." Arcee muttered to herself.

Void nodded, "We have found that these new triple changers, or Omni-cons," there were a few snickers, which went silent the moment Void looked in their direction.

"Are exceptionally resilient." Void continued, "Decapitation, dismemberment, stabbing them, or blasting them only slows them down. The only sure fire way to off line one,"

She thrust her servo through the holograms chest, "Is to remove the spark."

Her talons curled and she brought her arm back to her side, "Add Dark Energon as their primary fuel source, and these new Decepticon foot soldiers are a force to be reckoned with. Even Kal-El and Kara could not hope to hold their own against them in battle for long."

"But we saw him take out dozens of cons in our verse." Ultimus pointed out, "How could these new ones beat them?"

"Dark Energon." Arcee said, "Next to Kryptonite, it's the only substance we know of that can hurt Kara or Jack. In large enough quantities, it can render them helpless."

"So…what do we do now?" Ben asked.

Dusk looked at the hologram, a frown forming on her face the longer she looked at the cons new shock trooper.

"If we attack them all at once, those things will destroy us," she reasoned, "If you send me, Ja…Ultimus," she quickly corrected, "sorry, X, and Optimus in all by ourselves, the amount of Dark Energon will kill us,"

"Do you have a suggestion then?" Void asked crossing her arms, "That will no end in our untimely demise?"

The look on Dusks face said it all. She had decided that she didn't like Void. A common reaction many people had to meeting the femme.

"A plan," she answered, crossing my arms, "we split into two teams. One distracts the…Omni-cons…and the other rescues Kal and Kara,"

"Divide and conquer." Cliff said with a hint of approval.

"All we need is volunteers for the infiltration team and attack team." Void said, "I volunteer for the infiltration team. Kara is my responsibility," he talons dug into the metal, leaving deep furrows, "I refuse to leave her in the claws of the Decepticons."

"As will I." Optimus volunteered, "Our Kryptonian allies current state is my fault in part. I pushed him too hard, forgetting that he was just a child. It was ultimately his downfall." the guilt in his voice and on his faceplate was soul wrenching.

"I'll go too." Dusk said, sending a glare at Void as if daring her to protest it. Void didn't even acknowledge her, "Kara's a friend, and so is Kal."

"Well then by that logic," Ultimus said stepping forward, "I have to go too."

"Hey we'll go." Cliff volunteering himself and Arcee II, "My get a chance to scrap Starscream."

There was a cough, and he turned to see Starscream standing with his arms crossed, "The…. other Starscream." Cliff wisely corrected.

"Then get in line." Starscream rasped, "I want my doubles head. He disgraces my name with his mere existence." he growled.

"What about you?" Dusk asked Arcee, "Kal is your boyfriend…"

She looked away, "I'd… rather not. I don't think he'd want to talk to me anytime soon after everything that happened." she admitted.

"And us, don't forget about us!" Miko said, volunteering her and Raf.

"You and Rafael shall remain at base." Optimus ordered.

"But-"

"Remain. At. Base." Void ordered. The authority in her voice was more scary than kind like Optimus. but it got the point across.

Miko crossed her arms and sat cross legged on the table, pouting. Raf on the other hand, opened his laptop and began typing furiously into the keyboard, no doubt working on the S.T.R.I.P.E's programming as usual.

Optimus looked at his counterpart, "I trust that you will handle the Assault while the infiltration team makes its way inside?" he asked.

Optimus II nodded, "I will."

"I am coming as well," X said. Dusk turned towards her brother and started to protest. He held up a hand to stop her.

"Our Mom told me to watch over you and Avalon," he said firmly, his voice cutting through the air, "I'll not allow you to go by yourself. If something were to happen to you…like it already has on Cybres, I would never forgive myself if I wasn't there to help protect you,"  
Dusk gave an exasperated growl while the other bots looked at her curiously. What was Xavier referring too?

"Fine," she muttered.

Avalon tugged on her shirt."I come too?" she asked, silver-blue eyes pleading.

Dusk knelt down, putting a hand on her shoulder."No, Avi, I need you to stay here," she said.

"But I can help!" she protested. Eyes widened in shock as she drew out a diamond blade…about as tall as her waist…and held it like she knew how to use it. The look on Dusks face was priceless.

She shook her head "I need you to protect Ben and the others for me…can you do that?" she asked.

"Protect brother?" she asked, looking at Ben. Dusk nodded.

She gave a defeated sigh and nodded. "That's my girl," she purred, drawing her into an embrace, "And Avi?"

"Yes?"

"If he acts up, you can poke him," Dusk said.

Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree."Really!?" she squealed.

"No!" Ben yelled.

"Yes," I replied, ruffling her hair.

Avalon giggled, and Xavier walked up. "You be a good girl, Avalon," X warned her warmly, "You listen to Mrs. Darby and Dr. Williams, alright?"

Avalon nodded.

Dusk turned to Ben and he came close, taking her hands. The two engaged in a soft conversation while Optimus moved to a hidden door.

"Is everyone prepared?" Optimus he asked, emerging from the room with the Star Saber resting on his shoulder. Everyone nodded.

"Autobots, roll out!"

_Jasper Nevada…_

The ground bridge swirled to life, and a large group of large mechanical men and women emerged, hopping down with thunderous booms one or two at a time. They looked around and Arcee felt a sad weight settle in her spark. They might not have been in the town, but ash was spread everywhere, on everything, the remains of a failed military op melted to the floor.

"Déjà vu," Dusk muttered sarcastically, looking at all the ash.

"We're reliving our past, Dusk," Arcee II sighed sadly.

"Gee, Arcee, I never would have guessed," Dusk snarked.

Arcee II glared at her, and Dusk wave a dismissive servo.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Dusk sighed, waving her hand, "Point is…let's just hope we don't get caught this time,"

The ashes swirled around the Autobots, and several of them shuddered as they looked up at the twisted black spire of Darkmount. The sky was ash grey behind it, and the sun seemed to darken its features.

"Welcome to Darkmount, population: about 50 million 'Cons," Cliff said solemnly. Arcee certainly hoped it wasn't 50 million cons. Otherwise they were in a _lot _of trouble.

"I've never seen it from the ground," Ultimus admitted, craning his neck back to look at the spire.

"It ain't pretty from the air either," Dusk added.

"Hush," Elita whispered, "We need to…get down now!"

Every bot ducked down behind some fallen rocky rubble. A single Vehicon flyer zoomed by overhead, leaving contrails in its wake. The teams waited silently for several minutes, not daring to say or do anything yet. Eventually Ultimus broke the silence.

"You think it saw us?" he asked.

"I don't know," Elita answered, turning towards the rest of the assault and infiltration teams.

"Let's hope not…but assume they did," X said, scrutinizing the Citadel…like he was looking for weak points.

"I think now would be a good time to split up," Ultimus suggested, turning towards his father and Optimus.

"Autobots, you know what to do, split up," Optimus said, "Assault team, circle around the left while I take the infiltration team to the Citadel,"

He turned to his Autobots on the Assault team.

"You take orders from my counterpart for now," he ordered.

They nodded without complaint. Not really much of a shift in management for them, so it wouldn't be too difficult.

Elita and Optimus II approached their son and exchanged soft words for a moment, embracing each other. The two broke apart, and the sad look on Elitas faceplate was evident. She was worried, as a mother should. No one else saw, but Void looked at her with envy. Elita had everything that she had lost. A family, peace, her original body… Optimus. She shook her helm and shoved her emotions away. The mission came first.

"Good luck," Ultimus called as they went off with the assault team.

Dusk shifted to her femme form, and prepped herself to leave. Her brother on the other hand, did not. Several of the bots on the infiltration team looked at him with waiting expressions.

"Aren't you going to transform?" Ultimus asked him.

He flew up to Dusk's shoulder and sat there. "No," was his reply. It was so sharp and firm that no one questioned him.

He seemed to notice everyone's aversion to asking him for his reason.

"I find it better to move around stealthily when not in mech form," he explained, "my frame is…"He seemed to search for the right word.

"Not normal," he finally said.

Ultimus raised an optic ridge "Flashy?" he asked.

Xavier nodded "In a sense…it isn't practical for sneaking around," he admitted, "simply because my size and my wings are…obvious,"

"How so?" Starscream asked, genuinely interested in this conversation. He found the Halflings fascinating.

"They don't flatten like a normal Seeker's," X said, gesturing to Dusk's wings, which were pressed close to her back, "They are rigid and don't…"

"You may converse later," Voidwalker interrupted., "Now is the time to be silent,"

Ultimus looked at his family and shrugged. From the expression on his faceplate, Void realized he thought she didn't like him. Not true, she merely wanted to see if he lived up to being a Prime. If one born to a Prime could truly earn the title through action, not existing. She had had her chance. And she squandered it. But if any being could be a Prime she reasoned, besides Optimus, it was Kal-El. Question was, could his counterpart match the Kryptonian?

Shaking these thoughts off, Void followed behind Optimus as he lead the infiltration team to the entrance at the base of the tower. Only two single guards stood out front. Void couldn't help but smirk at Megatron's self confidence. It would be his undoing.

Optimus looked to her and Starscream. He nodded, and the two warriors sprung to their pedes and shot down the hill. Void sprinted down, keeping low to the ashen earth while Starscream leaped over head, his crimson blade shining in the light.

He landed behind the closest guard, who whirled to face him, blaster armed. That was as far as he got though, as the con suddenly found its head spinning off into the air, Energon trailing behind it.

A golden blur shot by Starscream's head, and he turned to see the other guard impaled to the wall, a golden spear jutting from its helm. Void strolled past him and plucked the spear from the cons face, not sparing it a second glance.

The femme and mech looked at the infiltration team and motioned for them to follow. Optimus relayed the signal, and the six bots leaped over the rocky hill they'd been using as cover, sliding down the hill. Optimus kept a servo on the Star Saber strapped to his back, wary of whatever would await them inside the base.

He looked at the sealed door, and without missing a beat, slid the Star Saber in between the seam where the two doors met. The blade began to glow vibrant blue and sparks flew as the door began glow molten red, then orange, and finally white. The door sizzled and popped, before melting, leaving a large hole in the middle, ready for any and all bots to enter.

Optimus sheathed the sword and motioned for the Autobots to enter, waiting outside the steaming entrance. Void and Screamer entered first, careful not to touch the molten edges. Arcee and Cliff followed, with Ultimus ducking in after them, and then Dusk, who made certain not to bump Xavier into the red hot steel.

The Prime followed last, entering a large blackish purple hallway, that looked nearly identical to the halls of the Nemesis. This of course mean that the a set of buttresses lined either side of the wall and were evenly spaced down along the wall, casting eerie shadows across the ground thanks to the poor lighting.

Optimus took point once more, and began to walk down the halls, surprisingly quiet for someone his size, making sure to check around every corner at every intersection. The halls were too quiet, too abandoned. He didn't like it, it smelled of a trap.

"Be on your guard." he warned, "We do not know what tricks Megatron may have waiting for us within these halls."

The team remained silent, though several nodded in understanding. Megatron was a crafty one, always best to expect the unexpected with him.

It was if a switch had been thrown when Optimus warned them. Two doors slid open, and a group of four Omni-Cons came roaring out, blades extended. In the tight corridors, Optimus had no time to draw the Star Saber. It was a good thing he had more than just the Star Saber then.

He shifted his servos to blades and caught an Omni-cons blade in an X. He kicked it back, before twisting on his pede and slicing its head off. Like before, decapitation wasn't enough. The con kept fighting, slashing at the Prime. Until, that is, a golden spear burst from behind, shorting out its spark.

The Omni-con fell to the floor and Void stood there, a smirk on her faceplate. Optimus nodded to her, and the two moved to help everyone else. With their added help, the three remaining Omni-cons were left in twitching pieces on the floor. Everyone made sure to keep clear of the Dark Energon, except Void who walked through the stuff unaffected.

The others looked at her funny, except Starscream, and she ignored them. She walked to Optimus, resting the golden spear on her shoulder, "Where to now Optimus?" She asked.

"Your demise." a voice hissed from the darkness.

Everyone whirled to face voice, and slowly the figure emerged from the shadows. He was unlike anything either group had ever seen before. He was covered in deep purple armor plates, so dark that it was almost pitch black. Glowing purple panels were attached to his chest and shoulder pads as well as his thighs. His pedes had two large spikes at the end, and a singular curved spike jutting from his knee guards. More spikes jutted from his elbows, and his servos were clawed like most cons. Two large wings sprung from his back, and the wheels on his pedes rolled as he walked. He was a triple changer

His faceplate wasn't visible, hidden behind what looked almost like a sci-fi style oxygen mask. Tubes wound around into his back, and were glowing a sickly violet. His optics were covered by a purple visor, and his angular helm had two spikes sticking out from front, forming a purple V. And he was big, no massive. Easily a head taller than Megatron himself, and nearly twice as wide. His limbs were thick and the chords that made up Cybertronian muscle fiber were large and bulging.

All in all, he looked as though he was designed purely with the intent of killing. He stopped a good distance away, his claws scraping together in anticipation, "Your infiltration ends her Prime." he rasped. His voice was both deep and ancient, yet… young and light. A weird mix.

Optimus pulled the Star Saber out of its sheath, its blade glowing a faint blue, "And you would be?" he asked, holding the Saber at the ready.

The mysterious new con showed no signs of intimidation from the blade. Partly due to the fact that his faceplate was hidden by the mask and visor.

He scraped his claws together, "I am the pinnacle of Decepticon engineering, the ultimate soldier powered by the blood of Unicron itself, built with a singular purpose."

His clawed fist closed tight, "To Scourge all Primes from existence. That is what you may call me. Scourge."

The hall was silent, and the glowing of the blue blade was the main source of light. Void suddenly stepped in front of Optimus, "Go, if this con is designed only to kill Primes, than you are the only one at risk." she stated, "After all, I am not a Prime, therefore he can't kill me." she said confidently.

"Um, why not just have all of us kill him?" Cliff suggested, "There's what, seven of us and one of him?"

Scourge chuckled, "Even if you managed to defeat me Autobots." he said, "My Omni-cons are on their way as we speak. By the time you off lined me, you would be surrounded and captured."

"Like I said," Void repeated, "Go, I'll slow him down."

Dusk stepped forward with her brother, "Same. You guys go find Kara and Kal." she ordered.

Ultimus looked at her like he was about to protest, but a single look from Dusk shut him up. Optimus and the others nodded, "Best of luck, and be safe." he said, and lead the bots off in the opposite direction.

Void's silver optics flicked to look at Dusk and Xavier, who readied themselves. Dusk holding her twin blades, and Xavier holding a sword and spear combo. She twirled her own spear, readying it.

"Stay out of my way." she warned them, "I don't want a novice getting in my way."

"After you." X said, motioning with his spear.

Void didn't even acknowledge him, instead twirling her spear and charging at Scourge. The big con readied himself, shifting his left servo into… a _morning star _of all things, held onto his arm with a long chain. He spun the morning star as Void charged him, and brought it down on her.

The femme slid down under the mech and between his legs, popping up behind him and slashing her spear up his back. The con snarled and stumbled forward into Dusk and Xavier's attacks. He raised his other arm and batted away their attacks as their blades merely left scratches. Superficial damage at best.

He swatted them away with his large arm, and focused his attention on Void, her spear causing more damage at the moment. He swung his large weapon at her, only for the chain to wrap around her spear and yank it away. Void to her credit, did not stumble, but instead rolled forward, her servos shifting to blades, and slashed up.

Scourge snarled as two thin cuts appeared on his armor. He responded to this attack, by decking Void, knocking her flying across the hall. Sparks flew and metal bounced on metal as Void went down the hall, leaving Dusk and Xavier to fight him.

Dusk flipped over head, striking with one of her blades, the piping around Scourges mask rupturing slightly. A small trickle of Dark Energon dripped from the tube, causing Scourge to roar in fury, shifting his mace into a servo, and then into a long serrated blade.

He locked blades with Dusk and Xavier, his great strength putting him on even fitting, an individual arm being strong enough to hold both of them back. Dusk growled to herself and Scourge shoved her away. Only for Void to come sprinting in, her spear back in her hands.

She twirled it over head, and leaped upwards, falling back down and slamming it into Scourge's shoulder. The con roared in pain, more Dark Energon leaking from the wound. Despite the ample amount of Energon, it was a minor wound. The plating on Scourges body was thick and tough, she found it night impossible to damage the con with any real wound.

Void landed on the other side of Scourge and readied herself for reengagement. Meaning that when her vision spun and her back started to burn, she was confused. Metal screeched across metal, and Void hit her head on the bulkhead of the doorway, her vision dazed.

She managed to turn onto her back, and looked at her attacker. Her spark stopped and her Energon froze.

No. Not him.

Primus of all please not him! Anyone but him, Megatron, Knockout, even Starscream! Anyone but the individual before her!

"Lady Prime." a cold emotionless voice droned, "It would appear that you did indeed survive." a purple mech said, lowering his cannon.

The mech was tall, taller than Bulkhead, and thickly built. He was covered head to toe in plates of purple armor. His whole body was very squared, and his entire right arm was replaced with a cannon larger than Megatron's. His left arm had a hand of delicate clawed servos, and two small winglets sprouted from his back.

But his face, Primus his face! There were no facial features, no mouth, no nose, no skin. Only a single large red optic, staring out unblinking as if staring into the deepest pits of a beings spark. He was Shockwave, the Decepticon mad scientist… and the one who had made Void who she was, all those centuries ago.

"I will have to rectify that." Shockwave proclaimed, "See what it is that keeps you together."

Void was known to all as a calm, collected, and calculating femme. She never let her emotions dictate her actions, and kept very strong walls erected around her emotions. But the sight of Shockwave, the mad scientist that had taken her a part, piece by piece, literally skinning her alive….

Her walls came crashing down in an instant.

Instinct was all that remained, and every single instinct told her to flee, to run. All of these, Void attempted to do, clawing at the walls, scrambling alongside them and putting as much distance away from herself and Shockwave as possible.

Tears flowed down her face, and she managed to get to her pedes, her feet scraping against the floor. She stumbled away, her legs getting tangled in her braid, and she fell back to the ground. Instead of standing, she merely clawed her way across the floor, whimpering as she believed Shockwave stalked after her.

She shifted her left servo into a blaster and fired off random shots into the wall, trying to slow her pursuer. She didn't get much further before her processor shut off. Too much… too much pain.

_Jasper Nevada…_

The Infiltration team retreated from the fortress into chaos. Blaster fire filled the air as the assault team engaged the Decepticons. Optimus II flew overhead with his large jetpack, taking pot shots at any con unfortunate enough to be in range. Until he spotted the other bots. In which case he promptly shot towards the team and landed.

Arcee II walked up next to Optimus, cradling Dusk in her arms, the Halfling beautiful wing in tatters. Someone, likely scourge, had crushed it. X himself was straining against Cliff and Starscream, trying to get back _into _Darkmount and kill Scourge for what he'd done.

Optimus II took all this in, then turned to his counterpart.

"A retreat would be most advised," he said, "We must regroup and heal our wounded,"

"And I would agree," Optimus nodded.

Both of them turned on their comm. links.

"Ratchet, open a Ground bridge and prepare the medical bay, we are bringing back wounded," Optimus ordered.

The Bridge swirled to life next them and both of them shouted in unison.

"Autobots! Fall back!"

It took only moments for the Autobots to fall back to the bridge and quickly rush through the bridge. Optimus though, did not follow. His larger counterpart waited at the bridge for him to follow.

"Go through, tend to your soldiers." Optimus ordered his counterpart, "I must find Ce-Voidwalker," he corrected.

Optimus II noted the stern look on Primes faceplate, and merely nodded. He understood that he and the femme were close and how important family was. He would probably do the same if Elita or Ultimus were in danger.

"The Bridge will be standing by." he said, and ran through. The bridge swirled shut behind him, and Optimus turned back to the fortress.

He took off running and transforming, his engine roaring loudly across the desert. A singly Autobot could not be detected by the cons, not when their forces were still in disarray like they were. But they wouldn't remain that way forever. Eventually they would regroup, but hopefully by then he would find Voidwalker… Celestial.

The engine rumbled through the halls and Optimus quickly drove through them. He didn't have to drive far though before he came across her. Void lay on her side on the ground, curled into a fetal position, tears streaming down her faceplate. Her optics were dimmed, suggesting she wasn't online at the moment.

Optimus transformed and crouched next to her, placing a gentle servo on her prone form. She did not react, and her body remained limp. Shuttering his optics, the Prime got both arms under Void, and lifted her bridal style, holding her close to his chassis.

"Ratchet." he commed, "Send a ground bridge, and prepare the medical bay… I have found Voidwalker."

_Autobot HQ…_

Optimus strode through the bridge, holding Void in his arms. The femme was limp and unmoving, the tears having stained her faceplate. There was an audible gasp from Ratchet as he saw her in his arms.

"The others?" Optimus asked, not wanting to look at the face of terror on Voids faceplate.

"Dusk is in one of the medical rooms being attended to," Ratchet reported, then focused on Void, "Optimus.. .what happened?"

"I wish I knew old friend." The Prime admitted, "I found Voidwalker like this. Only she could tell us what happened when she comes back online."

Ratchet nodded and lead Prime forward, "Let's get her to a med bay. She will need to be examined when she awakens."

A door next to the alcoves split open and Ratchet lead Optimus into an empty room. A single berth lay to the side, and spark rate monitors along with empty vials and Cybertronian tools Kara had crafted herself lay next to the berth.

Directing him to the berth, Ratchet helped Optimus gently set Void on the berth. The femme stirred slightly, a whimper escaping her lips. Ratchet felt his heart break at the sound. It was a sound he remembered hearing before the war, helping a small femmeling during a fierce electrical storm on Cybertron. To hear it again made his fatherly instincts scream in fury at whoever had done this to her.

Shoving those thoughts away, Ratchet instead began scanning the femme to insure she had suffered no serious damage. One femme was in the med bay, they did not need another.

"How long until she awakens Ratchet?" Optimus asked.

Ratchet sighed and lowered his scanner, "I don't know Optimus, it could be a few minutes, a few hours or even a few-"

He was cut off as Void jolted up, blasters armed and venting heavily. Her optics twitched from side to side for a moment, before realization took hold of them. She let out a shaky breath and lowered her blasters, shifting them back into servos.

Her optics flicked to the two mech's watching her with concern. She shook her helm, "What occurred no one needs to know." she answered firmly, standing.

She had only just stood when Ultimus stormed into the med bay, a look of utter fury on his faceplate.

"YOU!" he snarled, pointing an accusing finger at the femme.

Optimus and Ratchet made a movement to escort the young Prime out, but Void waved them off. She knew why he was here, or had a basic idea at least.

"Me." she responded simply, not moving.

"Do you have any idea what you did!?" he demanded, waving his servos in the air.

"My sister almost lost her wing because you ran off like a coward!" Ultimus answered for her. Void did not move. Sometimes allowing one to scream and yell was the best course. Even a Prime needed to scream and yell sometimes.

"I am many things," Void said, "A coward, perhaps. Yet I cannot account for my actions within Darkmount." she added.

She shoved past Ultimus, who crossed his arms, "You're no better than the cons." he growled, "Abandoning teammates, using people for your own pleasure."

"You little-" Ratchet started. Optimus held up a servo, stopping him. The medic looked up at him seething, but saw that Optimus was having difficulty maintaining his composure as well. Void for her part, had frozen stock still.

Without warning, quick as a flash, Voids servo shot out and gripped Ultimus by the throat, lifting him into the air with ease. The young Prime struggled against her iron grip, to no avail. Void faced him and brought him down, forcing him to his knees with a single servo. Despite her slender size, she was incredibly strong. She had managed to hold her own against Jack and Kara in sparring, it was only warranted.

"Listen and listen well welp." she hissed, getting his attention, "You can call me a coward, you can call me a whore, you can call me _many _things."

Void got up in his face so that he could see the scars lining it, "But _never _compare me to a Decepticon. They took everything from me, my life, my home, even my body." Ultimus' optics widened at some of this, but he remained silent, only struggling against her servo.

"Were you truly worthy of the title Prime," she continued, "You may have considered that perhaps I had a reason for running, that perhaps I was not in control of my faculties." her grip tightened.

"But you are no Prime, only a brat given the title by birth. I pity Kal-El, for he has to share an appearance and name with such a pathetic waste of space."She heaved him to his feet.

"So I want to make one thing perfectly clear. You are to refer to me as 'sir' or ma'am. Not coward, not whore, and especially not con." she narrowed her optics, "Are we clear?"

Ultimus nodded hurriedly and she shoved him into the wall. He hit with a bang and slid on his aft, "Good." she said, and walked out of the room.

The young mech's form flickered and he reverted to his human form, covering his face. The sound of sobbing could be heard, and Optimus felt sympathy for Ultimus. Void had been too harsh, they both had. But Void was very good at dissecting a person, figuring out how to break them down. And that had worked against Ultimus.

The door opened and Dusk came in, one of her wings held out slightly, the pain obviously still there. She knelt by her adopted brother, "Jack?" she whispered softly.

She looked up at Optimus and Ratchet, "Leave. Now." she ordered. Optimus nodded and left. Ratchet glared one more time at Ultimus before following. The teen knew nothing of Void, he had no right to judge her. To him, he deserved that beat down.

The two emerged from the medical wing into the main hall. The bots were scattered about, and there was no sign of Void. Knowing her, she had retreated to a dark corner or the rafters to be alone.

Optics looked to the two, and Optimus scowled, "We need to rethink our strategy." he stated, and approached the table.

A new hologram of the fortress sprung up, "Megatron was expecting us, his sensors detected us. An infiltration won't work." he explained.

"But a direct assault would be suicide, especially with the Omni-cons and Scourge in Megatron's arsenal," he continued.

"We can't just leave Jack and Kara there!" Miko protested.

"I was not suggesting we do." Optimus said, and typed in a series of commands, "However, there is one other entrance located on the fortress."

The model zoomed into a small cylinder jutting from the cliff, "A small exhaust port. Far too small to allow any Cybertronian to fit through." Optimus explained.

"Hold on, you aren't suggesting we send in humans or my children are you?" a voice demanded.

Optimus looked down at a Halfling that stood nearly 7 feet tall, had milk-white skin, with straight windswept silver-blond hair that reached her shoulders, and silver-blue eyes with glyphs in lining the iris. A thin blue scar ran down the left side of her face from her cheekbone to her collarbone, and a very faint very small birthmark on her forehead that looked like an eight-pointed star. She looked like an older version of the small Halfling Avalon. Her Wings were white and each feather had a silver rim. They were also very large.

Another Halfling stood behind her a male that stood taller than her with pale skin, wavy blonde hair that slightly curled, and scars around his sapphire blue eyes. His large wings where white with each feather being rimmed in gold.

"You are Silver Ivorra?" Optimus stated.

She nodded, "I am, and I seriously hope you aren't considering putting my daughter in danger again, especially when you have a mass shifter." she pointed out.

"Except the Mass shifter has a fatal flaw." Ratchet pointed out, "Its use can cause the molecules in our armor to weaken and become brittle for up to half an hour. Hardly worth worrying about in base, but in a combat scenario…"

"A few minutes can be a life time." the male Halfling finished.

"Who's side are you on?" Silver demanded, glaring at him.

He shrugged "I'm on the side where the least lives are lost," he answered.

"Tomosal, I am going to so give you a long talk when I get back," she huffed.

"Exactly." Optimus said, "However, I had no intention of putting you in danger, or any humans if I can help it."

"But," he continued, "There is a group of humans who excel at handling situations like this. They are allies and close friends of Jackson." his servos flew across the panel.

A new hologram appeared, a large T shaped tower on screen, "And our base is located directly beneath them."

"Um, who exactly _are _these guys?" Miko II asked.

"We're the Teen Titans." a young gravelly voice answered, "And we're more than happy to help Optimus."

**A/N: So…. I bet none of you saw **_**this **_**coming? That is the assault failing rather spectacularly. Hehehe, Elhini, I think we enjoy torturing our characters a little too much. Anyway, the Titans are here, yay! Wonder who else might show up next chapter…. Nah, couldn't be. Anyway, review, let us both know what you thought, and don't forget to check out Elhinis half. It's just as good as mine, and has a lot more to it from the other perspective. And remember, PM us with questions on the story! Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Revaluating Strategies.

_Autobot HQ…_

Heads turned to the new voice, and those who didn't know who the Titans were- pretty much Dusks entire Team- looked at the new arrivals with confusion. At the same time, Dusk and Ultimus reentered the room, though Ultimus still wore a rather depressed look on his face. They didn't get far before they saw the Titans though.

"Uh… when did all the spandex get here?" Dusk asked, looking at them.

"A better question," Amber said, "Is who the heck are the Teen Titans?"

"Dude, that would be us." a green teen about 15 or so said. His skin hair and eyes were green, and he had sharp canines. He wore a black jumpsuit with a purple stripe running down the middle, silver gloves, and purple shoes. A silver belt was tied around his waist.

"I don't think that's what she meant Beast boy." A youth who was roughly 15 _maybe _16 said, the first one to speak and introduce them.

He wore a red shirt with green sleeves and gloves, a black and yellow cape hanging from his back. He also wore green pants and a pair of steel toed combat boots. A yellow belt was wrapped around his waist and he wore a mask that covered his eyes. His black hair was spiked up, yet there appeared to be no hair gel involved.

The teen looked back over the large group of bots and humans, "The Teen Titans are a group of super heroes who work together fighting crimes and on several occasions saving the world." he explained, "Jack and his sister are both honorary members."

And it was then that several of the Titans noticed that there seemed to be multiple versions of the same bots, "Okay… am I seeing things? I don't seem to recall there being two Arcee's."

This titan was the largest, standing over 7 feet tall. He was an African American, but his entire body was covered in silver and blue cybernetics. Part of his face had even been covered in the cybernetics, meaning he had a normal eye and a red robotic eye.

"No, you're not seeing things Cyborg." Arcee said walking up, "We called in some back up from a parallel dimension." she explained.

"Which would explain why several of you have doubles and Jack seems to be here even though we know he has been captured by cons." a feminine monotone said.

Everyone looked at the voice to see a girl about Robins age dressed in a deep blue cloak with the hood pulled over her head and the cloak hiding most of her body. Only her lower face and eyes were visible, and her skin was a pale grey while her eyes were a purplish blue.

Sean sighed, "Okay, can you guys just introduce yourselves? I mean we haven't the slightest idea who you are except a bunch of superheroes."

Amber snickered but the Titans ignored her, "Right." the cape wearing youth said, "Forgot about that. I'm Robin, I'm the leader of the Titans. This is Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire." he motioned to each member as he introduced them.

The tamaranian girl waved at them happily, "A pleasure to meet you all!" she greeted. Starfire's entire mood was almost always a contagious happiness. You couldn't help but smile at her innocence, even if her choice of wardrobe suggested she was far from innocent.

She wore a purple tank top with a silver collar around her neck that exposed her mid riff. She wore silver bands on her upper arms and silver gloves on her hands that exposed her fingers. She wore a purple mini skirt and purple boots that came up past her thighs. Her hair was long and red, cascading past her shoulders, and her skin was orange, showing off that she clearly wasn't human. Her eyes were also emerald in color, both the iris and whites of them.

"Perhaps we should get the full introductions out of the way." Arcee suggested. Their team might know the Titans now, but the Titans only knew a few members of the team.

The introductions were relatively fast and painless, although Avalon's was interesting. She looked at Beast Boy, head cocked to the side, "Why are you green?" she asked.

The other Titans looked at Beast boy, and Cyborg grinned, "Go ahead BB, tell her why you're green!"

Beastboy rubbed his head, "Well it's just sorta… a side effect, comes with my powers." deciding to provide a demonstration, the teen proceeded to morph into a dog, then a hawk, followed by a leopard. The new comers looked utterly floored and Miko laughed at the priceless expressions on their faces.

"Cool!" Avalon said, hopping up and down on her little feet.

He morphed back to human form, "Thanks, glad someone appreciates what I can do." he glared at Raven.

"You're your own zoo. Congratulations." she deadpanned. The teens shoulders sagged and he crossed his arms grumbling to himself angrily.

"Making fun of BB aside." Cyborg said, "Exactly what are you." he motioned to the Halflings as a whole, Dusk included.

"You might as well tell him," Dusk said to her mom with a shrug.

"The five of us: My daughters Avalon and Dusk, my son Xavier, my husband Michael and I are called Halflings," Silver explained as she gestured at all of her children and husband, "We come from a completely different dimension than either team of Autobots from a planet called Cybres. Cybres is basically our Cybertron,"

"So…that means…?" the green teen asked, "You're basically a 'Bot?"

"The actual term is Autari," Silver corrected.

"Autari…Like the gaming system?" Cyborg scratched at his head, confused.

"That's Atari," Michael corrected, "Different spelling and slightly different pronunciation,"

"Anyway," Silver interrupted, shooting her husband a look, "We are only half Autari. Our other half is human,"

Now the Titans looked utterly floor. It was one thing to meet super humans or aliens…. but alien humans that were half alien robot? That was too much. It looked like BB and Cyborg's jaws were going to hit the floor.

"Whoa hold on," Robin said raising his hands up in a 'slow down' gesture, "You say your half robot…and half human…how does that even work!?"

"I guess it all started when my mother, and my two uncles crash landed on First Earth," Silver shrugged, "As Ivorras, our version of a Prime, they have an inert gift that activates in extreme situations, allowing them to transform into the native species…which happened to be humankind."

She seemed to mentally count to herself before continuing, "The three of them had a total of seven children. My cousins Hunter and Gabriella, who are our Optimus' children, my siblings Rosalina and my twin brother Bryse, and my other cousins…our version of Megatron's children Eclipt and…"

She stopped and several of the bots from that world seemed to grow more somber or angry. Dusk started to shake angrily at something. It was sorta obvious that this last person was pretty bad if they made Dusk angry like that.

"And who?" Starfire asked, "You seem unwilling to say? Why?"

"You know how Ben and I are engaged?" Dusk asked, they nodded. It had been explained to them fairly early.

"Our wedding was cut short…because of the Halfling that Mom hasn't named,"

Ben's fists clenched and his eyes hardened. "Morgana," he spat.

Dusk turned to Arcee, "That's how we got your message," she admitted, "Morgana wrecked our wedding and we gave chase to her…we thought she came to Second Earth and then we heard your message,"

"If I remember right…Kal said you were dying," Arcee said, the sadness and confusion evident on her faceplate, "And he said you wouldn't marry Ben because of that…what changed?"

Dusk smiled grimly, "I died," she answered.

Her answer was met with a dead stunned silence. The casual way in which she answered it, and just the fact in itself was.. .shocking to say the least.

Dusk turned back to Arcee, her wings twitching slightly.

"You think I dyed my feathers to look like this?" she motioned to her wings, "Halfling wings stay the same color for life…" all she got were confused looks.

Sighing, Dusk began to explain what had happened in their universe.

"Our war with the 'Cons is over," I said, "We restored Cybertron and then it happened to be the time that I needed to go back to Cybres."

The Titans looked really confused about this, heck some of the bots and humans were too. Ben did his best to explain it to them.

"Her spark was building up power to reignite her planet's core…it had finally done that…but Dusk wouldn't survive the procedure,"

"Then why is she here?" Raven asked. From what little one could see of her face, she seemed almost…fascinated by the fact that Dusk had died.

"Because Ben, my dad, and Jack here pieced my spark back together and brought me back to life," Dusk finished, "I might have accidently brought back a few other mech's, femmes and Halflings as well…"

"That's how the twins and Cliff got back!" Arcee cried, the gears clicking into place "You brought them back from the dead!"

"By accident," Dusk corrected, "I had no idea what the frag I was doing,"

"Language!" Amber snapped and she glared at her.

"So it was just the twins and Cliffjumper or…?" Bulkhead started.

The Halfling began ticking off the bots she'd managed to resurrect from the dead, counting on her fingers as she did. "Jazz, Ironhide, the twins, Chromia, Cliff…a whole bunch," she answered, "Jazz, 'Hide, and Mia stayed with Magnus back on second Earth…just in case Morgana makes an appearance there,"

"That's quiet the list." Arcee admitted, impressed by it.

"And irrelevant at the moment." Raven pointed out, "As nice as it is that you were able to bring back your friends, our own friends are in danger right now."

She looked up at Optimus, "That is why you called us here." she stated.

He nodded, "We attempted to rescue Jack and Kara ourselves. It ended in failure due to a variety of factors we had not anticipated." Optimus admitted.

"Well not that we're not flattered you'd come to us," Robin started, "But I don't think we'd be very helpful in assaulting the con fortress."

"You wouldn't be assaulting it," Arcee explained to the Titans, "You'd be infiltrating it."

Optimus motioned to the table and the Titans approached it, getting atop it in their own unique ways. Starfire flew up holding Cyborg under his arms, and Beastboy morphed into an eagle before flying up. Raven materialized a black platform beneath her and Robin, and lifted the two up so they could step onto the table. The new bots looked at that especially with shock and interest.

"We discovered a small ventilation shaft leading into Megatron's fortress," Optimus explained, bringing the model back up again, "Too small for a Cybertronian to fit through."

"But big enough for a group of humans." Robin finished, rubbing his chin as he examined it, "Megatron can't have this area un guarded. My team could take out one or two Vehicons on our own, but any more and I couldn't guarantee it."

"Which is why you won't be going in alone." Starscream rasped. Several bots looked at him, and Arcee thought he was volunteering to go with them.

"No I don't intend to go with them." he started, answering everyone's question, "However, the Teen Titans are not the only friends Kara and Jack have made over the past few months."

"They aren't?" Amber and Miko II asked, an eager look on their faces.

"Who would be this other guy?" they said in unison.

The answer didn't come from Starscream, or anyone else that was in the base, yet it echoed through everyone's mind, causing some of them to flinch.

_"My name is J'onn J'onzz" _a vaguely African accent answered. Seeming to melt up from the floor was a green man with a spiked head and glowing orange eyes.

"Whoa okay, who is this guy!?" Amber yelped, jumping away from the Martian.

_"As I said, I am J'onn J'onzz." _he repeated. His mouth didn't move, meaning he was speaking using telepathy.

"We got that." Dusk growled, wincing, "Now get out of our heads!"

He looked taken aback by this, _"I mean no harm, this is how my people speak."_ he explained.

"Well here we don't, in fact its kinda rude to go around talking in people's heads." Dusk countered.

_"I see…"_ J'onn said, a thoughtful expression forming on his alien face. Then his entire body rippled like water, and changed. Most of his skin turned black, his face shifted into a human shaped face with green skin and orange eyes, and a long blue cape sprouted from his shoulders. A red X crossed across his chest.

"Does this better suit you?" he asked, speaking aloud.

The Halflings seemed far less tense, "Yeah, much better." Dusk said nodding, "Now, to repeat Amber… Who are you!?"

"I think the better question is what is he." Cliff said, looking at the green man.

"Once more, I am J'onn J'onzz, a friend to the Superboy." he said. There were a few snickers from the new arrivals.

J'onn seemed to not notice them, "I am from a world know to your kind as Mars, the fourth celestial body in orbit around the sun."

That got their attention, "So… you're a… Martian?" Miko II asked, shock on her face.

The Martian Manhunter nodded, "One of the few left. Jackson saved me from spending my days on War World and returned me to my family. When I was contacted and told of his fate, I came here, to repay my debt." he explained. In the background, Ultimus hung his head, looking away.

"Well we'd be glad to have some help." Robin said, "If you think you could help us take down a Vehicon."

"I am quite confident I could." J'onn admitted, "very few beings posses the same abilities as my people. I will gladly assist you in rescuing my friend."

"Alright!" Cyborg whooped, "So when do we get started!?"

"Tomorrow." a weak voice said.

Everyone turned to see Void emerging from the shadows. Dusk glared at the femme, though she did seem to soften it slightly when she saw something she didn't expect. Tears stained her faceplate, and it was obvious she was on the verge of cracking.

"We are in no condition to fight again today." Void explained, her voice shaky and uneven, "We all need time to rest and recover." she strode past Optimus, "And to give time for Wheeljack and his partner to arrive." she added before vanishing.

"Partner?" Sean said, his face twisted in confusion.

"What partner?" he demanded.

Miko chuckled, "Oh Shawnee boy, he is… quiet the character, I wouldn't dare spoil him for you guys though. Not sure you'd believe me anyway."

Team Prime II looked at their counterparts who all nodded in agreement. Malthanis was not a being you could describe to someone and have them believe he was real. You had to see him to believe he existed.

"Though I wasn't aware Wheeljack was even on his way." Ratchet commented, checking the terminal. he blinked as a communiqué appeared on screen, signaling he had indeed contacted base, "How did I…"

He shook his helm, "Whatever." he snorted.

"I think it would be best that we show our guests to their rooms now." Optimus suggested, "That way we will all be able to get some rest."

No one argued with the Prime. Rest sounded good.

Arcee entered her own room, one she had found with relative ease. It was simple and obviously incomplete, with a single berth resting against the wall. But it would do for a simple night's sleep. The femme went to the berth and lay on it, letting her optics shut off and expecting to fall right to sleep.

_A shock of electricity followed by a scream of pain. Light flashed against the wall, "What is it you know of the Autobots Jack? Answer the question and the pain will end." a cool calm voice said._

_The teen was restrained to a table, red light pouring down on him, immense pain circulating through his system. Yet despite this, he would not talk, would not give anything he knew about the Autobots up. He wouldn't betray them._

_"G-go to… go to hell!" he hissed._

_"Tsk tsk tsk, so stubborn, what waste." the voice said. Another bolt of electricity. More screaming as fire engulfed his very being._

_"Answer the question Jack, or I will resort to crueler methods." the voice warned._

_He heaved for breath, barely able to breath, "N-no."_

_The voice sighed, "Very well, know that the pain is yours and yours alone. You brought it on yourself." _

_Something whirred loudly. He screeched to the heavens, and his vocal chords gave out._

"JACK!" Arcee bolted upright off the berth, optics wide her internal cooling fans kicking into overdrive. She vented heavily trying to calm herself. It didn't work. She put a servo to her forehead and started sobbing, the tears flowing down her faceplate.

"All my fault…" she murmured between sobs, "All my fault…"

_Early Morning…_

June blinked open her groggy eyes, the haze of sleep keeping her mind foggy. It took her a moment to realize where she was, in the new Autobot base. She rubbed her eyes and sat up in the simple bed in her new room.

Her nights rest had been anything but. Nightmares had plagued her all night, nightmares of what had befallen her children, Jack and Kara. The failed rescue yesterday did not sit well with her. But she couldn't give up hope, not yet. There was a chance they could rescue her kids, no they _would _rescue her kids.

It was then that June noticed a warm body next to her and looked to see the massive white form of Krypto curled into a ball next to her on the bed. Part of him was hanging off the edge of the bed, but he didn't seem to mind.

June smiled and patted the dog on the head, prompting him to blink his eyes open and look up at her with concern, "Did you hear me having a nightmare last night?"

Krypto whined and continued to look at her with concern. She scratched behind his ears, "You're a good boy." she praised.

He yipped happily, before a more depressed look crossed the dogs face. June had an idea of what it was, "It's okay boy, we'll get Jack and Kara back." the comfort was just as much for herself as it was for him.

The dog whimpered and almost nodded. A sudden scream of rage echoed through base. It sounded like Amber and Miko.

June grinned, "Come on, let's go see what all the fuss is about." she got out of bed and the dog barked before hopping off the bed and followed her out.

The two entered the main hall to see that everyone was awake, and that Amber and Miko II were looking at Ben rather angrily. The woman had to wonder exactly what he'd done to them, but that was a question for another time.

At the moment, Ratchet was typing on his terminal rather furiously, searching for Wheeljack's signal, "I have the signal!" he announced to everyone, "And Wheeljack is currently making his way towards one of the entrances as we speak."

As if to prove him right the wreckers ship, the Jackhammer, roared into base and landed in a large clearing past the command table. It turned around as it set down, the rear hatch opening. A crowd of bots, humans, and superheroes gathered around the entrance to see a white Mech emerge, who was identical to the Wheeljack from Dusks dimension.

"Hey folks, sorry I'm late." he waved, stepping out of his ship and onto the concrete floor.

Wheeljack II laughed, "Well as if there wasn't enough handsome in the base." he said, slapping his counterpart on the shoulder.

"Oh dear Primus." Both Ratchets muttered, realizing the mischief these two could cause. One Wheeljack and his charge was bad enough, but two? Ratchet was just thankful Wheeljacks partner was his polar opposite.

Wheeljack looked around the base, "I see we got some inter dimensional reinforcements here." he noted, nodding at several of the bots and humans, "And a few new faces to." he added, referring to the resurrected bots and the Halflings.

"If you don't mind me asking," Sean said stepping forward, "Exactly where were you during the Con attack on the Bots base?" he asked, avoiding the question of his partner.

"I was on the other side of the Earth at the time, when I realized what was happening, it was _way _too late for us to have done any good. So we made our way here." Wheeljack explained before frowning, "Cons decided that was a good time to send a patrol our way, so we had to shake them before heading here. Partner got nicked trying to lose them."

"Yeah speaking of," Sean changed the subject to something he clearly wanted to focus on, "Who _is _your partner? No one would tell us."

Wheeljack grinned, "Why don't ya guys meet him yourself?" he knocked on the hull of his ship, "Hey Malthanis, if your done sprucing up in there, we got some folks who wanna meet ya!"

His only response was silence, and Team Prime II looked at him like he was crazy, "Give it a minute." he assured them.

Suddenly, a stream of white billowing smoke darted out from the ship, shooting from point to point in the air rather suddenly. A trail of steam was left in its wake, and the steam darted up before suddenly twisting down into the ground behind the Halflings.

Steam billowed out as the steam made impact and began to assume a form. The figure stood, and the steam started to fade, to reveal a massive figure who easily stood over 8 feet tall and was covered in intricate white armor with golden highlights. Robes hung from his chest, along with a chiton hanging from his waist.

As the steam faded, his armor flared from white hot, to red, and finally cooled enough that he was easily visible to everyone. They looked at the figure in awe, as he seemed to radiate power and strength from every fiber of his being. His mere presence was enough to make people feel better.

And then he spread his wings, and everyone was floored.

Unlike the Halfling wings, these were not feathered appendages. A metal skeletal structure extended well over forty feet from wing tip to wing tip, but it was only the bits that connected to his back and made up the base of his wings that were made of armor. The wings themselves, where the feathers would be, were made of glowing fiery blue tendrils of energy that slowly waved back and forth as if trapped underwater, and as he stretched them, some of them crackled and whipped back and forth.

Then he folded them behind his back, and turned his hooded head at the new Team Prime. shocked expressions wove themselves across their faces as they realized… he had no face, heck not even a head of his own. All that suggested he had a head was the elegant hood draped across where it would be. All anyone could see _into _it though was utterly nothing.

He spoke with a voice that sounded like a chorus of voices, and brought forth courage and strength to everyone who heard it. Which made it a little funny when he said; "**Wheeljack, you know as well as I that you attacked the con patrol. They would never have assaulted us had you merely avoided them, as I suggested."**

"Yeah, but where would the fun be in that?" the wrecker responded with a lazy smile.

Malthanis crossed his arms, **"When time is of the essence, we cannot afford to waste time with pointless engagements." **he countered.

Wheeljack rolled his optics, while Team Prime II finally got over their shock at the angels appearance. Amber was the first to speak, "Ugh… whose tall, armored, and shiny?" she asked.

The seraphim directed his faceless gaze at the group, causing several of them to shiver, **"Apologies," **he bowed his head, **"I am known as Malthanis, Seraphim, and former apprentice to Imperius Archangel of Valor, and current apprentice to Tyrael, the Aspect of Wisdom." **there was a slight hint of pride in his voice at that last bit.

"Wait… Seraphim, isn't that some sort of angel?" Dusk said. She had wracked her mind to figure out what the word meant, and that was a best guess.

**"You would be correct Dusk Greyman." **Malthanis replied, **"I represent the elite soldiers of the High Heavens, having fought hordes of demons from the pits of hell themselves. And now, I am here, fighting in another endless conflict." **There was a mix of both sadness and almost...glee in his voice.

"How did you know who I am?" Dusk asked, noting but not commenting on the tone of his voice.

**"I know who most of you are." **Malthanis shrugged, his armor clinking together lightly, **"I know of your existence thanks to Kara Jor-El, who told me much of her adventures in your world when I first met her. I believe I know who most of you are."**

He pointed at Sean **"Sean Whinging, the charge of Wheeljack and Honorary Wrecker. The first human Kara met."**

His gauntleted hand moved to Amber, **"Amber Robertson, another Honorary Wrecker, charge of Smokescreen and the formerly deceased Sunstreaker. A trouble maker as well." **Amber huffed at this, but Malthanis moved on.

His gaze fell on Ben, **"Ben Castora, charge of the Autobot Jolt, and current partner to Dusk Greyman."**

Malthanis returned his attention to Dusk, **"And as I said, Dusk Greyman. Kara spoke highly of you and considers you a good friend." **Dusk smiled a little at this.

Then his gaze fell on Ultimus, who gulped silently. Instead of saying anything, Malthanis strode forward, his armored boots echoing against the stone floor. He stopped when he towered over the young prime, his empty hood gazing down at him.

Everyone watched in tense silence as the angel looked down at the Prime, who met his gaze warily. No one knew exactly what to expect. So they waited for Malthanis to speak.

**"Ultimus Prime." **he echoed, **"Son of Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, and his mate Elita-1, and holder of the title Prime. Hot headed, quick to anger, judgmental. All these characteristics Kara used to describe you." **

Ultimus' head hung.

**"But." **Malthanis added, causing him to look back up, **"Despite this, Kara also said that you were a good ally and friend, and that there were few people she would trust more than you. Only her own brother, Juniper Darby, Dusk Greyman, and her Guardian Voidwalker ranked higher to her."**

He held out a gauntleted hand, **"I am honored to meet you."**

Ultimus' eyes went wide and he looked to the angels hand. He cautiously extended his own hand and shook it.

"The pleasure is mine." he said softly.

The two broke their shake and Malthanis looked to Optimus, **"Based on your message Optimus Prime, I assume you have a plan that involves the rescue of Kara Jor-El and Kal-El?" **he asked.

Optimus nodded, "We have devised an operation to rescue Kara and Jack, yes. Your assistance would be appreciated." he motioned for Malthanis to meet him on the table.

His form dissipated into steam again, and he zigged and zagged to the table, landing on the table, steam billowing around him. Optimus proceeded to explain the plan to Malthanis, who was silent through most of it, merely nodding at some points.

When he was finished, Malthanis stood looking at the model, arms crossed and silent for a few moments before his voice spoke again, **"It is a bold plan Optimus Prime." **he praised, **"And under normal circumstances, I would say too bold." **he uncrossed his arms.** "However, these are hardly normal circumstances, and sometimes valor is just as needed as wisdom. I will happily assist if it means rescuing Kara from those cretins." **several brows were raised.

**"Kal-El as well." **he added nonchalantly.

"Then it is agreed." Optimus said, looking over both teams, "We Autobots will launch an assault on Darkmount to provide a distraction for our organic and celestial allies to rescue Jack and Kara."

"Hold on one minute!" Miko yelled, emerging from a room in her costume, mask in hand. Several of the newer humans who were unaware of her Sairen alias snickered at her costume.

"What's with the get up?" her counterpart snickered.

"It's to keep my identity a secret," Miko responded, "Don't want to wind up like Paparazzi bait just because I saved a few people like Jack." looks were exchanged and Miko looked up at Optimus.

"If the Titans and angel boy get to go, I am too!" she protested, putting her mask on.

Optimus looked like he was about to say something, when Raf of all people interrupted, speaking for the first time since arriving, "Jack and Kara are our friends Optimus." he said, his voice hoarse from lack of use, "We're not sitting on the sidelines, not anymore while you risk your lives."

"Uh no offense, but I don't think you could do much against the cons." Amber said, gesturing to Raf's small stature.

The preteen looked at her, and without saying a word, pressed enter on his keyboard. The ground next to him shifted split open, hydraulics whirring in protest as something _big _was lifted up. The S.T.R.I.P.E armor, in all its shining glory rose from the floor. Its chest split open, revealing its cockpit. Without a word, Raf climbed into the armor, and it sealed tight.

It hummed silently, and shifted, slamming its fists together, _**"I took on Starscream in the Apex Armor. I can handle a few Vehicons." **_he stated confidently.

Team Prime II looked at him utterly floored by this new development. STRIPE ignored their dumbstruck looks and looked at Optimus, _**"You can try and stop me, but I won't stand by while my best friend is experimented on by cons."**_

His heavy armor proceeded to walk to the ground bridge where he stood arms crossed and tapping his foot impatiently. The Titans shrugged and gathered at the bridge along with Sairen, J'onn, and Malthanis.

Malthanis looked at Ultimus **"Will you join us son of Prime? Your abilities would serve us well in the coming attack."**

Ultimus looked up, a bit shocked that he was being invited to help them, "I… uh…" he looked at his parents, who nodded encouragingly.

"Sure," he shrugged, walking up to join them. The others in his team wished him luck, well except Dusk who was arguing with her mother over something.

"I wish you luck and safety," Optimus said, "And hope you all return safely."

"Can do boss bot!" Sairen said happily as the bridge swirled to life behind them and the group disappeared through the bridge.

It was only after they left that Amber said, "Uh, where did Dusk go?"

**A/N: So heres chapter three, which was actually supposed to have the rescue in it, but the intros were MUCH longer than anticipated, so it got split in two. Bonus for you guys I guess. So anyway, what'd you think? Good, bad, meh? Let me know in the reviews and PM me with questions. And again, give some love to Elhinis half of the story, Another Type of Star: Shadow and Flame, she puts a lot of work into it. Anyway,bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Rescue

_Jasper Nevada…_

The odd group of humans, aliens, and celestial beings exited the ground bridge onto the hard brown Earth of Jasper. They stood on a sloping hill that looked down into the ashen landscape before them. The massive Decepticon fortress loomed in the distance, its twisted black spires contrasting against the grey ash filled skies.

"Whoa…." Beast Boy said, looking up at the massive fortress, "We're supposed to find Kara and Jack in that!?"

_**"It won't be too difficult." **_STRIPE said, his white body gleaming under the ash covered sun, _**"If we find a Decepticon terminal, I can hack it and find their locations."**_

"The key though, is getting inside." Robin said, crouching at the edge of the hill, "We need to get to the vent undetected. Once inside, staying hidden should be easy."

He looked to Ultimus, "You're our resident Cybertronian, can the Decepticon sensors detect us?"

Ultimus stopped looking at the fortress and looked at Robin, "Normally no. The con's don't really set their sensors to look for organic bodies. At least that's how it was in my universe." he added.

"So what you're saying is we have no idea what to expect." Raven said bluntly.

The Prime winced, "Yeah, pretty much."

Robin looked at J'onn, "What about you, any ideas?"

"I could phase through the walls, scout ahead for any Decepticon guards." he suggested.

That caught their attention, "Man, you can phase through walls? Like a ghost?" Cyborg asked, eye and optic wide.

The Martian Manhunter nodded, "It is a trait all of my people posses, though only a handful ever fully master."

Robin rubbed his chin, years of tactical experience running through his mind, "That might work, although…"

He looked at Malthanis, who was staring off behind them where the bridge had been, his glowing wings tense, "Malthanis!" Robin called.

Malthanis twisted his hood to look at the boy wonder, "Care to join us over here? Add your two cents?"

The angel nodded and walked over, "Apologies." he started.

"I was merely waiting for our guest to show herself." he explained, pointing to a large rock.

"What guest?" Sairen asked, following his hand.

"Dusk Greyman, she followed us through. I've been waiting for her to join us." Malthanis answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Ultimus closed his eyes and sighed, "Dusk," he said wearily, "You can come out now,"

He reopened his eyes and Dusk stood out from behind the rock, glaring at Malthanis.

"That's going to get real annoying, real fast, Seraph," she growled.

"You were supposed to stay at base," Ultimus scolded as she walked up to the group, "Your wing…"

"Like that ever stopped me," she snorted.

"Your mom is going to murder you," Ultimus countered.

"Eh," Dusk shrugged, "been dead three times…I think I can handle it,"

"You're sure you can fight with an injured wing?" Robin asked, "We can't afford to have anyone holding us back on this."

Dusk gave him a look, "If I could fight with an overloading spark I can fight with an injured wing bird boy." she replied.

Robin blinked while Cyborg let out a laugh, "HA! Nice one!" he and Dusk exchanged high fives.

"I think we're missing the point here." Raven interrupted, as per usual, "We have a giant fortress to infiltrate, Jack is being held prisoner by the Decepticons, and we're still here." Dusk and Ultimus both raised an eyebrow.

"Well than I guess we should get going." Sairen said, rubbing her gloved hands together.

Robin nodded, "J'onn, you scout ahead, let us know if any Vehicons are guarding the ventilation shaft."

The Martian nodded and became transparent before flying off in the direction of the fortress. He was only gone for a minute or two, before he returned and landed at the edge of the group.

"The shaft is unguarded, though a grate has been placed at the edge." he reported, "Too small for any human to fit through though."

Beast Boy laughed, "Is that all? A grate? How hard could it be to break through a grate." several of the group glared at him for jinxing them.

"Come on," Robin said, motioning for the group to move forward, "Let's go."

The large group started down the hill, taking care to make sure they were as unnoticeable as possible. The occasional Vehicon or Omni-con would roar over head from time to time, and the group would take cover by some rocks or in the shadows. No cons fired on them, and they made their way to the vent with ease.

It jutted out a good 12 feet above the stony ground, and seemed to be just big enough for STRIPE to fit through if he hunched over slightly. The grate on it was filled with holes no bigger than a human fist, and a murky liquid poured out onto the ground.

**"Allow me." **Malthanis offered, and flew up to the grate. He held out a hand, and steam coalesced around it. Then it sprayed off, leaving a huge golden bronze sword in his hands. Its elegant edge glimmering beautifully in the sunlight.

Holding it in one hand, Malthanis made four swift cuts into the grate. He then wrapped his fingers into it, and pried it off, flinging it to the side. He landed on the edge of the pipe.

"The way is clear!" he called back down.

Cyborg wrinkled his nose, "Just wish it smelled good too." he complained.

Dusk smirked at the cybernetic teens reaction before her leg muscles coiled and her wings flared. She grabbed Ultimus under his arms and flew them both up to the ledge.

"Ow," she hissed as they landed, "Jack you're still heav…"

"Don't you dare say it!" he threatened, cutting her off.

She smirked but said nothing else.

The others joined them up at the shaft quickly enough. STRIPE had to duck down under the edges of the grate to fit, but he still managed to walk with only his head bowed. Raven was the last to enter and started forward. Until Malthanis put his arm in front of her, stopping her.

**"Don't think I don't know what you are." **he warned, his empty gaze staring her own hooded face.

Raven paled somewhat "I don't know-"

**"Save it demon, I recognize the signs of your kind." **he spat, **"I want to make one thing clear.**" he bent down till he was eye level with the teen **"If you give me **_**any **_**reason to mistrust you, I will end you. Are we clear?"**

The grey girl narrowed her eyes, "Crystal," she growled out.

**"Good," **he pointed down the shaft, the others having already started, **"Move."** he ordered.

Raven spared one last glare at him before trudging down the halls, the murky water splashing against her legs. Malthanis followed after, not saying anything, merely watching her.

The smell grew worse as they walked, a fact Beast Boy was quiet insistent in pointing out, "Dude, what's that smell!" he whined, holding his nose, "I thought robots didn't have toilets."

_**"It's not sewage water." **_STRIPE replied, ducking his head, _**"It's coolant and hydraulic fluid along with excess Energon waste."**_

"It's sludge." Cyborg translated, seeing the utterly confused look on BB's face.

"Well why not say that then!?" the shape shifter demanded, flinging his hands in the air.

"Did it bother you when he did?" Raven asked from the back of the pack, ignoring Malthanis.

"A little." Beast Boy mumbled.

"Well then that's why." Raven deadpanned.

The teen twisted his head around to glare at Raven, steaming mad. Starfire giggled at the exchange, "That's enough." Robin ordered, coming to a stop.

He put a gloved hand to the ceiling, "We're under the base now, someone want to pop open the floor?" he asked.

"I've got it." STRIPE volunteered. The others pressed themselves against the wall and he walked forward, turning to the side so his bulk could better fit. Dusk let out a hiss of pain, her wing being pressed against the wall. Ultimus looked at her concerned, but she waved him off.

STRIPE stopped where Robin was standing, and held his right hand at the ready. It shifted into a large blow torch, and he began cutting into the metal. The steel flared and twisted, the high temperature sending sparks flying into the murky liquid at their feet to sizzle and die. He slowly cut in a full 360 degrees, and then punched the metal disc.

There was a loud clang and it went flying up. A moment later, it could be heard clattering against the steel floor as it hit the ground. STRIPE poked his head up through the hole, looking for any sign of cons.

"All clear." he reported, before heaving himself up. He then began helping the others out one at a time, minus the flyers, who, of course, flew out of the hole. In only a minute, they were all out of the sewer system.

Cyborg raised a foot, "Oh that's just nasty!" he cried, looking at the muck sticking to his boot. Dusk smirked and Cyborg sent her a glare.

That little exchange over, the group looked at the area they were in. One of the many long poorly lit halls the Decepticons were fans of. Of course.

"At least no vampire/zombie 'Cons," Ultimus shrugged.

"Please don't bring that up," Dusk shuddered, "That was bad enough,"

Everyone else looked at the two confused, Sairen and STRIPE in particular. What did they mean by Vampire Zombiecons?

Ultimus shook his head in response to their questioning looks.

"Not now," he said, "Let's see if we can find a terminal. If we can find a terminal…we can see where the energy is going…the generator will be strongest…but if there's unusually big hotspots…then more than likely that's where they're keeping Kal and Kara,"

"Let's go," Dusk suggested, "Before the 'Cons figure out we're here,"

"I thought you said they don't normally widen their parameters to organic signatures?" Robin asked as they moved down the hall. The halls once more were eerie and abandoned, no sign of a Decepticon in sight.

"Normally no," Ultimus answered, "But there are three…possibly four…in our group that could trigger their alarms…even by accident,"

He looked around a corner, peaking out of the edge, "And I'd rather not get captured in here…again," he finished.

"Again?" Robin asked, raising a brow.

"Long story short, we tried to storm this place…Ultra Magnus, another 'Bot, and Ultimus got captured," Dusk explained, "And then our Optimus beat the scrap out Megsy,"

She gave a dark chuckle.

"I didn't think that he'd would lose it like that…once Megs shot you out of the sky…oi," she shuddered, "Threw Megs into Darkmount's power core and destroyed it,"

"Talk later," Ultimus told her, a small grin lighting up his face, "I just found a terminal. Let's move,"

Quickly moving out from the corner, the large team soon saw the terminal resting against the hall wall. Its purple panels that represented keys cast a dim glow on the rest of the hall, a very creepy effect if ever there was one.

Ultimus came to a stop by the terminal, "Alright Raf, you're up." he whispered.

Nodding, the armored preteen walked up to the terminal. His armored boots let out a low roar, and he was propelled upwards, landing on the terminal with ease. The others followed suit, landing next to him. Ultimus and Dusk didn't dare assume their Cybertronian or Cybres forms. It might set off the fortresses sensors.

STRIPE knelt by a large port on the terminal, and his hand morphed into what could only be described as a large USB drive. He plugged it in, and his body went still. The faint sound of fast typing could be heard from within the steel superhero. Raf was hard at work inside.

The others watched the halls for any sign of Decepticons that might stumble onto them. Starfire floated above, green energy glowing faintly around her hands, her eyes a bright emerald green. Raven and Robin stood sentinel by Raf, neither one moving except for their eyes. Cyborg and BB patrolled below, Beast Boy being morphed into a triceratops of all things. The shocked looks on Ultimus' and Dusks faces were hilarious.

Sairen paced back and forth, hands behind her back. She was eager to find Jack and Kara, find her friends. Jack was responsible for her learning to control her powers, and she respected him a lot for it. Kara was just a good friend she wanted to rescue, but that didn't diminish her eagerness to help.

As Raf continued to hack the cons computer, the sound of something… jingling echoed through the halls. Everyone pivoted towards the sound down the hall they came from, weapons pointed at the dark hall.

"Titans, be ready." Robin said in a harsh whisper, "We don't know what could be coming."

Malthanis held his other hand out and a large triangular shield to match his sword materialized. He twirled the sword expertly before hunkering down behind the large metal shield. His wings folded tightly against his back and seemed to glow a darker shade of blue.

Dusk and Ultimus stood ready as well, and everyone waited for several minutes as the sound grew louder. Dusk's face slowly contorted in confusion, until realization dawned on her face, followed by a smile.

She lowered her weapons, right as a big shaggy white dog trotted out of the dimly lit halls, his symbol on his neck being the source of the jingling. Ignoring Cyborg and Beastboy, who lowered their weapons, or in BB's case, demorphed, the husky-like dog came to a stop at the edge of the terminal.

He hunched his hindquarters down, coiling them like a cats for a moment. Then he proceeded to leap on top of the terminal, tail wagging slightly.

"Krypto!?" Sairen said, smiling. The white dog licked her happily, "What are you doing here boy?" she asked while he proceeded to bathe her with his tongue.

Krypto stopped for a moment and directed his gaze at Ultimus, who gulped nervously. The dog might not be _actively _aggressive towards him anymore, but he made his disdain for the young Prime quiet obvious.

"He was helping us look for you," an alto toned voice growled from the shadows. Everyone whirled to face the voice, weapons ready… until Silver Ivorra and Michael emerged from the shadows.

Dusk's smile melted into a terrified expression. "Scrap," she squeaked, turning to face her parents.

"Dusk…" Silver said, putting her hands on her hips, "You have a lot of explaining to do…not to mention the fact that you are so grounded,"

Her scowl intensified, "I mean, what were you thinking, going off like that with an injured wing! What if you were separated or ran into Scourge again?"

"She would likely ensure the freak met an assured end." another more monotone voice said from the other hall. Everyone looked in shock as Voidwalker pealed out of the shadows, full sized. Her faceplate was utterly neutral, and she didn't spare a second glance at any of the humans or other organics. She ignored Dusk's glare too, much to her annoyance.

"What are _you _doing here?" she growled.

The femme's silver optics flicked to her, "I am here to rescue my charge." she stated bluntly, and proceeded to continue walking forward.

"And unless you want to help, I suggest you stay out of my way." she added.

Dusk let out an indignant scream, her face twisted into a scowl. She _really _didn't like that femme.

"Wait, you don't even know where Kara is!" Robin pointed out.

"10th floor, Shockwaves lab." Void replied without missing a beat.

A moment later, STRIPE unplugged himself from the terminal, "She's right, it's in the files. How did you know that?"

Void froze, and her talons curled, "Because only Shockwave would be sick enough to experiment on a child." she hissed. Had anyone seen her faceplate, they would have seen the tears of pain, sadness, and fear rolling down her faceplate. She knew she wouldn't be able to confront Shockwave, not again. Her only hope was that he wouldn't be there. That he would be distracted by the current diversionary attack.

It would be the only way she could protect Kara for certain. The only way.

Void continued down the halls, hearing the others argue for a brief moment before deciding to eventually follow her. She couldn't see it, but she could sense Dusk drilling holes in the back of her head with a glare. The girl was still angry at her for verbally abusing her brother, something she herself thought had been too harsh. Sure the young Prime had stepped outside his bounds, but she was more controlled than that. At least she thought she was.

Lately, she wasn't so sure anymore. Things had changed, her, Optimus, Kara, everyone was acting different. Whether or not that was good or bad, was yet to be decided. Void mentally counted the floors she had passed through and decided that they were on the 10th floor. Shockwaves lab was near.

She rounded a corner, and came to a stop, the group stopping behind her. In front of them, a total of six Vehicons and three Omni-cons stood in front of what had to be Shockwaves lab. The door was exceptionally well guarded and large.

The two groups stared each other down, neither one moving or making a sound. The halls were narrow with only the buttresses as cover. The cons knew it, they knew. All they needed was for one side to make the first move.

As if by instinct, the cons armed their blasters and began firing, "Titans, go!" Robin ordered, and all hell broke loose.

Malthanis was the first to really engage the cons. His sword and shield merged into a single long spear, which he spun until it hit the palm of his hand. He let out a roar and charged forward, moving at an inhuman speed. A Vehicon singled him out and opened fire. But every time a shot seemed about to hit him, he faded to mist and darted out of the way.

The con tried to crush him under foot, but again he faded to mist. But this time, the mist darted up his leg, and reformed into the Seraph. He spun in midair, swinging his spear. The blades edge cut into the vulnerable wiring and Energon spilled down the back of its leg. It fell forward, its left leg no longer functioning.

Malthanis landed on its back and scraped his spear along the armor as he sprinted up the back. Letting out a fierce roar cry, he jumped high into the air, raising his spear above his head. Then hit the back of the cons neck and plunged it deep into his wiring. The drone spasm uncontrollably as its connection to its processor was severed.

While this went on, Void engaged one of the Omni-cons, their blades meeting in a shower of sparks. The Dark Energon fueled creature snarled at her, baring its pointed denta in a rather intimidating display. Will intimidating for anyone besides Voidwalker.

The femme was unaffected by the gesture, and instead kicked the con back. As it stumbled away, she quickly slashed at its legs, managing to sever a chunk of armor from the knee. Ignoring it, the Omni-con hissed angrily and tackled the femme, knocking them both to the ground.

It raised its bladed arm to kill her, only for Void to shift her right servo into a blaster and fire shot after shot into its chest. The armor flared bright white and fizzled away, and the con shrieked as its spark exploded in molten fire. Its body went limp and fell to the side, allowing Voidwalker to sit up.

The remaining cons were being dealt with except a single Omni-con left to the Titans. Void watched in amazement as the superhero teens brought down the corrupted giant.

The con staggered back under a hail of green star bolts that Starfire flung at him with deadly ferocity, zipping through the air around it. The star bolts detonated against the cons shell, leaving scorch marks along its white paint. It covered its visor and swiped out at Starfire, who barely dodged the clawed hand. She then flew up along the arm and proceeded to deck the con in the faceplate, knocking it back.

Starfire fell back and Cyborg and Beastboy charged forward, Cyborg riding a top the shape shifter who was currently a giant green T-Rex that roared ferociously at the con. Cyborg's right arm shifted into a large cannon, and a blue beam shot out, slamming into the cons shoulder, stunning it long enough for Beastboy to sink his steak knife teeth into the shoulder.

Metal creaked and tore under the force of the bite, Dark Energon spilling onto the floor. The Omni-Con bared its fangs and backhanded the T-Rex, sending BB flying. Cyborg though, leapt off the T-Rex and slammed his cannon arm into the cons face. A loud boom and flash of light followed, and the cybernetic teen could be seen skidding across the ground.

The Omni-Con reared its head back up, revealing that most of its faceplate had been sheared away in the blast, exposing wiring and tubes to the air. Its visor was shattered, revealing hate filled optics that glared at the teens.

It didn't have time to act on that hate though, as Raven materialized from the wall in a swirl of blackness, her eyes burning white. She raised her hands, and black energy engulfed them.

"Azarath Metrione Zynthos!"

The very floor beneath the con shifted as it was covered in the same energy coating Ravens hands. It tore itself up and wrapped around its pedes, holding it in place. The Omni-con struggled against the magic, and failed to see Starfire zooming back at him. With Robin held under her arms.

She twisted in mid air and flung the boy wonder at the Omni-con. Robin flipped in mid air, and when he righted himself, he flung three disk shaped objects that detonated against the cons optics. It let out a roar of anger and fury as it stumbled back, Raven releasing its pedes.

There was a crunch, and the con looked down with its barely functioning optic to see a piece of steel emerging from its spark, coated in black energy. Raven touched down next to Robin and the other Titans, and the Omni-con shuddered once before off lining.

"Whoa." Ultimus breathed, looking at the remains of the cons "That was bloody,"

"Later," Dusk said, her and the others walking to the doors, "Let's get these doors open and get Kara,"

Voidwalker was up at the door in moments, slipping her talons in between the edges of the door. Actuators and hydraulics whirred as she struggled against the door. Krypto trotted up and bit one side of the door and heaved hard. The doors were peeled away once the dog provided some assistance, and the infiltration team entered the lab. They froze as they entered, seeing Kara.

She was strapped down to a table, tiny tubes and electrodes going in and out of her as a highly concentrated beam of red light shone down on her. Her suit was in tatters, the cape torn and spread underneath her. Burns dotted her body, and her hair was singed in several places. With the rays of a red sun bearing down on her, any sunlight she may have accumulated was gone. Put simply, Kara was human in nearly every sense of the word.

"C'mon," Dusk said, her and Jack running over to the operating table.

Voidwalker was quicker, running to her charge's side, her faceplate softening with concern at the condition she was being kept in. She was about to remove these horrible bindings from her, when Dusks topped her.

"Wait!" She shouted.

The femme stopped, her silver optics colder than the void she'd sprung from, glaring at the Halfling. Who was she to keep her from getting her charge out of this pit forsaken place? She had yet to let Kara suffer under her watch. She didn't intend to start today.

Dusk pointed up at the ceiling to an ominously steaming container and then at a spider web thin wire that ran down to Kara's manacles. Voids talons curled in anger. Shockwave had booby-trapped the lab so that anyone who tried to free his experiment would be a melted puddle of slag before they could get out the door…of course, that meant the loss of an experiment…but he could always find another.

Always another.

Dusk turned to the fliers on the team, "Can one of you…carefully…remove the wires from the bucket?" she asked, her wing too injured for flying even if she had used it earlier.

Malthanis was up with a quiet whoosh, floating next to the bucket. His sword slashed through the wiring easily, letting it fall to the floor where it would cause no one harm. He landed on the operating table. Just as Ultimus jumped upwards, far higher than any human could jump, and came up on top of the berth. He turned to Voidwalker and gave a nod. The femme tore off the bindings and Ultimus put a gentle hand on Kara's shoulder.

"Kara?" he asked gently.

The young Kryptonian moaned softly, her eyes fluttering open weakly. From the looks of them, they were tired and exhausted, the eyes of one who'd been through far too much. Both Malthanis and Void felt a seething anger at this, seeing the girl so poorly treated. Her eyes managed to focus on Ultimus.

"Kal?" she asked.

Ultimus shook his head, "Guess again," he smiled.

"Ultimus?!" she groaned, "Wha…?"

"No time to explain," Jack cut her off, much to Voidwalker's annoyance, "Can you walk?"

She tried sitting up, only to whimper in pain and fall back on the operating table, "N-No," she grimaced, "R-Red…"

She couldn't say anything more. Voidwalker took Kara's slender form in her servos carefully and cradled her in the crook of her arm. Her faceplate was soft and sad, the look of a mother or older sister who cared deeply for their daughter or sister. It was a look that people rarely saw on the femmes faceplate.

Kara squinted up at her guardian, "V-void?" she squeaked, her voice tired and weak.

"Shh," Void said gently, "Rest little one, you will need it." she ordered softly.

The others exchanged looks, all but Krypto who walked up to Void, well Kara, his tail wagging. He let out a whimper and nuzzled against the girls arm, a sad look on his face.

Kara winced but managed to pet the war hound, "G-good boy." she whispered.

Cyborg walked up while the dog greeted her, and scanned the girl. A worried expression crossed his face, "We need to get her out of here soon. Her vitals are inconsistent, she'll need medical attention." he lowered his arm, "Otherwise she might not make it."

Void looked up at the cybernetic teen, "She will make it." the femme growled, her optics narrowed.

He raised his hands defensively, "I know, we just need to get going."

"Actually." a deep monotone voice said. The group looked to the voice and Void fell utter terror enter her spark.

Shockwave stood at the entrance to his lab with several Omni-cons, "You will not be going anywhere, the Kryptonian is mine."

Voidwalker's entire being began to tremble, and her face twisted into a look of utter terror. She thought she heard voices, but they were so much background noise. All her attention was on Shockwave, so much that she didn't notice Malthanis taking Kara from her arms, per Dusks orders.

The psychotic con focused his single optic on Void, "You have returned to further the experiment, good." he said, his voice never dropping or raising.

Memories flashed through Void's processor:

_Chained to a table, unable to break free…_

_Dim lights, the only company was herself. Then the doors opened and Shockwave entered, red optic glowing._

_The burning pain of a laser scalpel cutting into her protoform, metal flesh peeled away piece by piece, layer by layer. Her Energon tubing cut away, her golden protoform slowly reduced to so much scrap metal. _

_Faceplate torn from its resting place, Energon staining the floor._

_The sting of a laser whip, the utter agony. _

_The feeling of a cold servo wrapping around her exposed spark. Then Darkness._

Voidwalker screamed in utter terror, scrambling away from Shockwave and his troops, knocking tools over and nearly stepping on one of the Titans. She stumbled forward, hitting the floor. She didn't even try and get up, she merely pulled herself forward, vaguely aware that she was sobbing uncontrollably.

The femme didn't care in the slightest, she needed to get away! Escapee the pain, escape the monster! Run, flee, escape!

She didn't get far before hitting a wall.

Trapped!

Trapped with Shockwave, no way out!

Her talons dug into the wall, but she couldn't break it, it wouldn't break! Her vision blurred from the tears, and she felt her spark sink. There was no escape! The doctor would tear her apart again! This realization caused the femme to curl into a fetal, whimpering and sobbing, the faint sounds of combat a timer to the inevitable.

The Titans, the Autobots, they would be beaten. Taken by Shockwave, experimented on. She would too, they all would, even… Even Kara.

Void's tears lessened.

Even Kara would suffer his wrath, his sadistic experiments. She would die in an agonizing death. And because Void was here.

"N-no." Void whimpered, uncurling. She pushed herself off the ground, clearing her optics.

"No." she reaffirmed, watching Shockwave dominate the team with his Omni-cons.

Voidwalker got to her pedes, looking at the cycloptic, psychotic, con scientist. Her servos clenched tightly.

"NO!"

Her voice roared through the lab and Void charged, instinct and fury ruling her mind. Shockwave had time to look up at her before receiving a solid blow to the face from her pede. He stumbled back and steadied himself in time for Void to transform her servos into two long elegant blades.

There was no order, no technique to how she attacked with the blades. She just slashed, sliced, and cut at a ferocious uncontrolled speed. Shockwave had no time to try and avoid the attacks, and fell back as Voids blows left thin but deep cuts in his armor, Energon pooling beneath him. She straddled him and began pounding on him with her bare servos, blind with rage.

Shockwave slammed his cannon arm into her head, knocking her off him. He aimed it at her to try and off line her, but was too slow. She bounced back forward, her servo back in blade form.

"GAH!" Shockwave let out a roar of pain as her blade stabbed deeply into his right arm. She levered her blade, and with a sickening series of cracks and tears, tore Shockwaves cannon clean off. It wasn't non functioning though, the cannon was still powered by the belt of power cells connected to Shockwaves back.

Grasping the dismembered limb, Void yanked it up, spinning Shockwave away from his labs entrance. She slammed the barrel into his midsection and fired the cannon, shot after shot, into his gut. The con fell over as the entire right side of his middle was melted away. Chunks of the lab on the far side hissed and melted, letting rays of sunlight beam through.

The con scientist knocked Void away with his remaining arm, and tried to flee, only falling over. Connection to his right side had been severed by Voids brutal use of his limb. So he used his left arm to drag himself forward away from that psychotic glitch.

He didn't get far.

Void wrapped a servo around his leg and began dragging him back, "Never again!" She screeched, dragging him back towards her, "You never hurt anyone EVER AGAIN!" she roared, flipping him on his back and proceeding to punch him, over, and over and over.

Shockwave tried to stop her with his remaining limb, digging his clawed servo between the plates on her chest. All this accomplished was the tearing off of her chest armor with a screech of metal. Strands of muscle wire and her bare chassis were exposed to the air. Her spark flared furiously as she relentlessly pounded him, sparks and Energon flying everywhere with each punch.

Void let out a furious scream and punched the con one more time in the optic. It shattered like glass, and he stopped struggling, his optic sparking, his Energon coating the floor. Void just sat there, venting heavily, tears pouring down her faceplate.

Everyone else watched in shock at what they'd just seen (except Kara who was resting in Malthanis' arms). Void had single handedly defeated Shockwave, viciously. Such violence they'd rarely seen, though Ultimus was reminded of Jack and Dusks berserker rage, the similarities were obvious.

Voidwalker let out a shaky breath, and got off the nearly dead con, her entire being trembling. Her legs gave out as she stood, and she put her servos out to stop herself. The slid on the Energon and her head hit the floor with a clang. She tensed, trying to push herself back up. It didn't work out so well.

A large silver pede slammed onto her servo, causing her to cry out in pain, "I've seen enough." Megatron growled, looking at the remains of his forces that littered the lab, and the infiltration team, whose weapons were at the ready.

Kara managed to look up from Mal's arms at the warlord, who was standing over her guardian, "No…" she whimpered, looking at her guardian.

Several Vehicons along with Scourge entered the room, surrounding the organics and half sane Void. Megatron let out a chuckle, "An admirable attempt to rescue your sister, Kal-El," he said, "But one that ended in failure."

There was a silence as the group looked amongst each other, a silent debate going on. Do they reveal that Ultimus isn't Jack, or do they let him think he is? Ultimately though, they never had a real chance to decide.

Megatron reached down and gripped Void by the base of her braid and lifted her in the air, the femme hanging limply as most of her energy was gone.

"And Celestial, how nice to see you again." he rasped, holding her at optic level, "I hadn't expected you to fight so furiously against Shockwave after he did this to you." he motioned to her exposed inner workings, "But I suppose even the whore of a Prime can have some level of fire in them."

He flung her towards the group, and she hit with a thud, skidding across the ground. She whimpered, the fiery rage she'd felt gone. Now she only felt broken, her mind lost and confused.

"Void…" Kara strained her hand forward, reaching for her guardian. But she was too weak to do anything, her powers gone for the time.

She looked to Malthanis, "Please… help her…" she begged.

The angel looked at the girl in his arms, "He's going to kill her!" Kara yelled, looking back at Void.

Megatron shot a few shots at the group, causing them to scatter, while the Vehicons and Scourge kept them from disappearing. He kicked Void over onto her back, and raised his right hand, his blade ejecting.

"Malthanis…" Kara whimpered, her eyes full of tears, "Please…"

Malthanis looked between them one more time before coming to a decision. He set Kara down against a large stand, a bit of sunlight streaming in next to her, and charged at Megatron. His spear materialized, and he blocked the blow from Megatrons own sword.

**"Foul cretin!" **he hissed, shoving Megs away, **"You wish to kill one of us? Then kill me in battle. If you can." **he whirled his spear in challenge.

Scourge looked like he was about to start something, but Megatron waved him off, "I don't need to fight the likes of you." Megatron said.

He raised his cannon and fired with blinding speed. Malthanis collided with the wall, causing bits of debris to crumble and bury him under the rubble. Megatron lowered his cannon.

"Only the Kryptonians were ever a true threat to me." he looked over at the others, who glared at the con. Krypto looked sick, the amount of Dark Energon sapping his strength. Unlike Kara or Jack, he had no resistance to the stuff. He let out a pained whimper, unable to glare at Megatron.

They were stuck. With Scourge and Megatron here, there was no guarantee that they could fight their way out, even with Ultimus, Dusk, Silver, and Michael. Not with an injured Kara, weakened Krypto, and currently unconscious Seraphim. Add Megatron and Scourges Dark Energon, and there was no way they could get out alive.

That was, until J'onn had an idea. He would need help though, and he sent his mind out to the first person he thought of that could use telepathy.

_"Dusk Greyman." _he whispered in her mind. He felt her recoil at his touch, and inwardly winced.

_"What are you doing in my head!?" _she demanded angrily.

_"I apologize, but you were the first I could think of that would be able to help me. I have a plan that might give us the edge over the Decepticons." _J'onn answered quickly, and then explained his plan.

"Now then, where was I?" Megatron said, gripping Voids neck.

"Now!" the Martian yelled. He phased forward, passing through a con and emerging with a handful of tubing. It sparked and an explosion shout out of its neck before it fell over off line.

Megatron growled angrily, "AGAIN!" he roared, and began firing at J'onn, his soldiers adding to his fire.

None of them noticed Dusk shift to femme form and proceed to blow a hole in the wall… until it was too late. She fired a flurry of bolts into the wall, and it only took the others a moment to realize what she was doing. They quickly joined her in firing, and the wall collapsed, and sunlight streamed in.

"GRAGH!" Megatron snarled, charging towards them, or more specifically Dusk, blade drawn, "Irritable pest!"

A black servo slammed into his faceplate out of nowhere, and sent him sprawling, "That pest is my sister." Ultimus said, dusting his servos off, "And _no one _hurts my sister."

Megatrons optics went wide, than narrowed, "You're the one who looks like Optimus." he growled, getting to his pedes.

"The same one who ran with the Prime when I engaged the others Sire." Scourge said siding next to him.

"Who are you?" Megatron demanded, "Tell me, and I'll make sure your life ends quickly."

Ultimus narrowed his optics, "I'm Ultimus Prime, son of Optimus Prime and Elita-1. The _other _Optimus decimating your air forces."

Megatron seemed to think on this for a moment before he connected the dots. His reaction though, was not what anyone expected. He laughed, long and hard.

Then he stopped laughing and proceeded to attack Ultimus .There was a brief exchange of blades, before Megatron kicked him in the gut, and knocked him on his aft, slamming his pede on him. The others paused at the edge of the gap, ready to assist Megatron. Scourge and his men though where protecting their master, preventing them from helping Ultimus.

Megatron pointed his cannon at Ultimus' faceplate "Pathetic whelp!" he snarled, "I took on Optimus and Celestial Prime, neither was able to defeat me. What makes you think that you, the counterpart to the Kryptonian, could _ever _hold your own against me!?" he demanded.

"He doesn't have to hold his own against you." a voice echoed through the chamber.

Suddenly, a scarlet beam cut down the Vehicons and caused Scourge to yelp as a burn mark scorched his chest. Everyone whirled to see Kara standing in the sunlight by Malthanis, her injuries faded scars, and her eyes glowing red. With a single hand, she flung the debris off the angel, and then slammed a foot into the ground.

Metal twisted and tore, and the teen shot forward like a whip. Megatron barely had time to react as Kara proceeded to knock him through wall after wall, giving the others time to escape. The two crashed through the other side of the fortress, Megatron tumbling away from her.

The Kryptonian started after the warlord, who quickly transformed and flew off away from her. He was no fool, he stood no chance against the Kryptonian, unless he could get behind her to use his cannons. And given how angry she seemed… he doubted that highly.

He circled around the spire of Darkmount, Kara in hot pursuit, and saw his forces being pushed back by the Autobots! That was something he would not allow. He activated his comm.

"Starscream, send Knockout to retrieve Shockwave from his lab and bring him aboard the Nemesis. Then focus the cannons on the Autobots!"

"_B-but master," _the SIC stuttered. "_ our own troops-"_

"Do not talk back to me Starscream!" he roared, rolling over a scarlet beam, "JUST DO IT!"

_"As you wish, master." _the seeker replied, and cut the comm.

Moments later, a creaking sound emanated from the top of the tower, and the cannon slowly lowered until it was pointed at both Autobot teams. Megatron inwardly sneered, happy to see the teams go.

Until, that is, a Kara grabbed his wing, having finally caught up to him. The girl heaved on his wing and let out a roar of pure anger, twisting in the air and letting Megatron fly off. The con let out a frustrated yell, and silently vowed to kill the Kryptonian… until he crashed through his cannons control center into the main power supply.

Sparks flew and explosions rippled through the control room, ultimately causing a cascading effect through the rest of Darkmount. The cannons overloaded, and one by one, detonated. The large cannons slowly fell and tore off the edge, crashing into Darkmount as they fell, tearing the structure apart.

The remaining Decepticons looked between the bots and their collapsing fortress. Realizing that staying behind would not be conductive to a good future, they fled, flying towards the retreating Nemesis. The Autobots let out a roaring cheer as the structure fell…

And then Kara landed in front of them, arms crossed, "Where is my brother?"

**A/N: And here it is, the rescue! Sorry this took so long guys, finals were keeping me from working on this, and Elhini had her own issues to deal with as well. But its here now, so tell us, what do you think? Let us know in the reviews below, and PM us with questions. Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Revelations

_Autobot HQ…_

The bridge swirled to life and the Autobots and their allies walked through, nearly completely unharmed. Except for Voidwalker, who once more was being carried in Optimus' arms. Her bout with Shockwave and Megatron had left her incredibly injured, and she needed medical attention after she'd managed to scale down the collapsed fortress. How she managed to survive its collapse, no one knew.

What Ratchet did know though, was that he needed to work, and fast. He ushered Optimus and Void into a medical room, where he put the femme in stasis and got to work on repairing her severe damage.

The rest of the group scattered into the base, with the last figure walking in.

Kara walked through the bridge, her face knit in a frown as she digested all the information she'd just learned. Kal wasn't captured by the Decepticons, a fact she knew, but seemed to shock everyone else. She had never seen her brother get captured, and Megatron had even taunted her with the fact that her brother wouldn't be able to storm the fortress successfully. But now that she was freed and the con base destroyed, that left a question.

Where was Jack?

"Kara!?" the girl looked up in time for her adopted mother to embrace her.

June managed to suppress her tears of relief as she hugged her adopted daughter tightly, "I was so worried, I thought…maybe…" a small sob escaped her lips, "I'm so glad you're okay." she said, pulling away.

Kara was a little shocked and ashamed by this reaction. Sure, she and June got along, but she never really figured the woman saw her as anymore than her sons sister. Not her daughter. And now she felt shame that her brother and her adopted son wasn't with her.

"I'm sorry June…" she said, bowing her head, "Kal… he wasn't at the con base, I never knew where he was."

She looked up at everyone teary eyed, "You risked your lives to try and save him, but you got me instead."

"I'm so sorry…" she whispered, her head hanging.

Dusk walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Kara looked back up at her friend.

"Kara…we didn't care if Kal was in there by himself…we came for both of you," Dusk said softly, "You're like a sister to me, I'd move dimensions just to make sure you were safe. And I'd do the same for Kal,"

"We would too," Ultimus agreed stepping forward, "If we didn't care about you guys…we wouldn't have come when Arcee called us. The minute we heard you both were captured, Ratchet fired up the Bridge and we came here to help. We're just glad you're safe,"

Kara looked at the large assembled group, all of them. Her bots, their bots, the Titans, J'onn, Malthanis (whose pride was pretty hurt at the moment). All of them nodded in agreement with Ultimus and Dusk's statement. The teen felt like she was about to burst into tears.

June walked up putting a hand on her shoulder too, "You're just as important to me as Jack is," she comforted, "Both of you are my children. I have one back…I wish I could have the other too,"

"So now we need to find Kal," Ben hummed, "And if he's not at Darkmount with the 'Cons…where could he be?"

"I don't know," Dusk admitted, then turned to Kara, "Kara…did Jack make any more enemies after you all left? Or was the crazy Kryptonian glitch the only one?"

"Dusk…" Amber growled.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she waved a dismissive hand, "Point is…someone has Kal…and that someone probably knows Kal's weakness,"

"There's only two people I could think of." Kara said, "And that's MECH…. or _him._" she growled with far more hate than anyone heard from her. None of the bots from her dimension were surprised by this, they knew who she meant.

"Who?" Amber asked.

"Slade." Kara hissed, her hands clenching tight.

"The piece of slag blackmailed Kal into working for him, turned him against us." Kara explained upon seeing their confused looks (except for Dusk). She then sent a challenging glare at Amber, _daring _her to scold her for her language.

"Anyway, it couldn't be him." Robin argued, "Slade was in jail last we checked."

"So that leaves MECH." Arcee growled, crossing her arms, "Makes sense, ever since they found out what he could do they've tried to kill him or capture him." she said, her optics downcast.

June frowned, "But we haven't seen or heard from them since the Waller Incident." she pointed out, "They could be anywhere."

Several of the bots and human shuddered at the mention of that incident. The others looked at them confused, "Waller Incident?" Miko II asked.

"Long, long story." her counterpart answered, "Basically the head of the NSA put a federal warrant on Jacks head, and then pardoned MECH to arrest him and the bots."

Team Prime II was utterly silent at this revelation. Odds were that they'd had no such problems, and didn't think something like that could or would ever really happen.

"I wonder if she still has a job," Ultimus growled darkly.

"Not that we know of," June said, "Jack got her fired…along with getting Fowler promoted,"

"Promoted!?" The entire team demanded in unison, all except Elita and Optimus who didn't seem all that surprised by it.

"He took Waller's place," Miko snickered, "Oh if I could have only seen her face when she got told who got her position!"

Several bots and humans snickered at the idea of seeing the annoying woman's utterly stunned face. It was hysterical to imagine after all the crap she caused.

"So…if Fowler has a job in the NSA," Sean reasoned, "Who is going to be your liaison? Because I don't think they're going to let him continue being a liaison if he's heading another department,"

"So far they've left him as the liaison," Raf said, climbing out of his armor, "I don't see why they'd change it now."

"In that case, you'd be wrong Raf." a familiar voice said from the terminal. Everyone whirled to see Fowler, and boy did he look exhausted. Heavy bags were forming under his eyes, and his face was dirty and unshaven, bits of white speckling his hair.

"Agent Fowler." Optimus greeted.

The man sighed, "It's just Director now Optimus. After the little fiasco in Jasper, my post as liaison has been revoked. The Pentagon thinks I'm not hard enough with you guys, so they brought a new one in. They think this one will be able to keep them better informed."

"And who is this liaison?" June demanded, crossing her arms.

Fowler sighed and was about to answer, when he was interrupted, "That'd be me." a distinctly female voice answered for him.

All eyes and optics focused on the source of the voice to see a middle aged heavy set African American woman in a blue business suit standing next to a black sedan. Amanda Waller, former head of the NSA.

The reactions from Team Prime where explosive. Every bot, even Optimus, unfolded their blasters and pointed at them. Krypto hunched down, snarling fiercely, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. Kara though, took a more direct approach.

"YOU!" she screamed, practically teleporting from her position in front of the bridge to holding Waller by the throat.

She slammed the woman against the car, holding their while keeping her grip tight, "You have ten seconds to explain what in the pit you're doing here before I lobotomize you!"

"Kara, stand down!" Fowler ordered from the screen, "Waller _is _the new Liaison."

Everyone froze, and the other team looked at them waiting for the fireworks. They weren't disappointed.

"WHAT!?" was the unanimous yell, causing everyone else to flinch.

"How can that _glitch_, be the new liaison after what she did to my son!" June yelled, glaring from Fowler to Waller.

"Because Waller has connections in high places, she was never fully convicted. So she was just demoted." Fowler explained, his frustration evident.

"And your superiors believed that her skills would be best served as our liaison." Optimus said, actually _glaring _at the woman.

"Sadly." Fowler nodded, "And my hands are tied. I try something, I might get sent into early retirement. Then you'll get stuck with someone much worse as the head of the NSA."

He looked at Kara, who still had her hand wrapped around Waller's neck, "You can let her go now Kara, Waller is still under close surveillance. She won't try anything, I promise."

Fowler looked off screen for a moment, "Hold on, I've got other work to attend to, please don't let Kara kill her." he said, and his face disappeared from view.

Kara glared at the woman, not releasing her, "Kara." June said, she herself resisting the urge to deck Waller for now.

The Kryptonian Teen closed her eyes and sighed, releasing Waller. The liaison fell to the ground gasping for air. Kara didn't spare her a second glance and walked away. Waller got up to her feet only to find June standing in front of her, arms crossed arms narrowed.

"Mrs. Darby I-" Waller never finished as June proceeded to deck the agent, knocking her against the car with a crash. The rest of the base let out a series of surprised curses and shocked murmurs.

June rubbed her hand, getting the feeling back into it, "That's for trying to kill my son, you heartless _bitch_." and she promptly walked away.

Miko snickered, "Second time Mrs. D has knocked Waller flat on her aft."

Waller rubbed her jaw as she struggled to her feet, brushing herself off, "I see you still have that mean left hook." she commented.

June glared at her, "Just tell us what you want, or leave." she ordered. The tone of her voice suggested that she would happily send Waller back to the government in a body bag. Damn the consequences.

"No need for hostilities June, I'm on your side now. I realized the mistakes I made, and am trying to rectify them." Waller said with sincerity.

Arcee snorted, "Uh-huh, right. Prison life too hard for you, so you decided to try and pull the "I've changed" card huh?" she sneered.

Waller glared at the group before sighing, "If that's how it's going to be, then I suppose you don't want the information on where Jack is being kept." she said, and turned to her car.

The reaction was instant, "Wait!" Kara called after her, ignoring the looks from the others.

Though her brother had made a complete aft of himself last they truly spoke, he was still family. And Kara still loved him, and would do whatever it took to get him back. Even if that meant working with Waller.

Waller turned around, her face neutral though the others _knew _she'd planned that. Kara clenched her hands, "Can you…_please..._show us the intel?" she asked. Each word felt like she was punching herself in the gut, but she swallowed her pride.

The agent didn't make any smart alec remarks, realizing the tenseness of the situation, and instead retrieved something from her vehicle, "We don't actually know where he is." she admitted. Several weapons hummed as they were onlined.

"_But!_" she quickly added, "We believe this does," she revealed the item to be a circular orange object with a stylized silver S in the middle, "It was sent to Director Fowlers office, and after checking it for bugs, figured that the Autobots would be most interested in it." the tone of her voice suggested that this wasn't entirely true, that she believed the US government should handle it. But she too had to swallow her pride, so she set it in Kara's hand.

Kara examined it only for a moment or two before frowning, "It's a holographic projector." she noted, "A messaging device."

"How do you know that?" Amber asked.

"X-Ray vision, remember?" Kara replied, looking at her. Amber huffed and crossed her arms.

Shrugging it off, Kara set the device on the floor and backed away. The others were about to ask her why she'd done that, when a large screen flickered above the device, dominating the air space. A live video feed appeared on the screen, and gasps of horror and anger sounded through base.

A man stood in the screen. He wore black body armor, with a silver collar around his neck, and silver pieces of armor bolted to his arms and shoulders. He wore a silver belt lined with carrying pouches, and a pair of steel toed boots. His body was thick and muscular, the definition clearly defined even under the body armor.

The most defining feature though, was his face. A mask that resembled a skull covered it, and it was cut in two different colored halves. The left half was pitch black with no visible eye hole. The other was metallic orange, with what appeared to be an eye set to a permanent scowl. The iris burned violet behind the mask.

Kara knew who this was, but Robin beat her to the punch, "Slade." he hissed, narrowing his eyes at the criminal mastermind.

"Ah Titans," Slade greeted, his voice cool and calm as always, "How wonderful to see you again."

"You're in prison, we have you under 24 hour surveillance!" Cyborg protested, completely shocked by the man's sudden reappearance, "How could you have escaped!?"

Slade ignored the team, and focused solely on Kara, "Young Kara, I see the past few months have been kind to you. Tell me, how has your brother been?"

Kara clenched her hands and scowled angrily. Everyone backed away, "What have you done with him you bastard!?" she roared, the base rumbling.

Slade was unfazed by it, "Rest assured that for the time being my former apprentice is still alive. However, what he has told me about the Autobots and their inter-dimensional allies is… fascinating." he said, his one eyed gaze shifting to look at Ultimus. Optimus II and Elita made sure to stay in front of him.

The criminal ignored the gesture, and Arcee narrowed her optics, "How do you know this? Jack would never tell you anything about us." she felt rage boiling in her spark, wanting nothing more than to tear that man apart.

That got a smirk out of Slade, "Oh Jack was quiet resistant at first. I've seen few resist my… methods for as long as he did. But everyone has a breaking point. And Jack is no exception."

Everyone tensed and glared at the criminal mastermind, utter fury emanating from some. But it was Dusk who did something with that fury.

"Monster," She growled darkly. she started forwards, and Ben tried holding her back only to fail miserably.

"You listen here Slade," she snapped, "You put one finger on Jack, my Jack, Kara's Jack, it doesn't matter…Oh wait you already did…"

Flames flickered among the primaries of her wings and sparks spat from the ends of her hair. it was a cold seething fury, the likes of which few had ever seen. And it was scary.

"Just know this, coward…you've hurt my friends…if there's one thing I don't like…it's someone hurting a friend of mine," she growled, "Praying won't save you… Because Hell is where you will be slowly roasting for all eternity…but Hell will be a mercy compared to what I'm going to do to you…not to mention Kara and Arcee here,"

Slade slowly turned his gaze on her, "Dusk Greyman." he said, completely disregarding her threats, "the halfling with a fiery temper. Jack did not exaggerate when he said you were easy to anger."

If they could see his face, he'd be grinning, "But such anger isn't a normal development. Something caused it, more than something mystical. Perhaps… some rather harsh childhood memories?"

There was an ever so slight pause from Dusk, though only Slade noticed it. And he took hold on that detail like a tick, "Ah, so that's what it was. You never really spent any time with your real parents, instead being shipped about between foster homes because your parents couldn't protect you."

Silver and Michael glared at him as he continued, "And each home it was the same. Rejection, hate, fear of you. Because they would never, will never accept you for what you are. The world of humans is not one for you. And you know it, and that. Infuriates you."

Dusk clenched her fists, shaking as a low, feral, metallic hiss slipped through her teeth. She glared back up at him, her eyes nearly pitch black.

"You know nothing of me," she snarled, flames flickering around her.

Ben backed up just a bit, batting a bit that had latched onto his sleeve, "You don't know a Primus slagged thing! Infuriates me? Oh no…that makes me just a little angry. What maddens me…is that you have the nerve to say that. What infuriates me…well, let's just say you child-torturing glitch…you haven't seen me furious yet. And unfortunately for you…you're going to,"

Slade looked at her silently, his face unreadable. Then, he let out a chuckle, "I look forward to it." he said with sickening glee.

Dusk looked like she was about to burst into another rant, but stopped when Kara put a hand on her friends shoulder. The flames had no effect on her, so she stood there. Dusk looked at her, and Kara shook her head. Now wasn't the time for anger. That could come later.

"What is it you want Slade?" Arcee demanded, trying to shift the focus of the conversation, "You wouldn't contact us like this without some form of motivation. So what is it?"

Slades one eye swiveled to her, "My motivation is really quite simple. This is a test, if you can find me, and rescue Jack, then you'll have passed."

"That's it!?" Kara demanded, her own anger flickering through, "Nothing else, just one of your fragging tests!?" It was Dusks term to calm her down, and Kara let out a heavy breath.

"Well not entirely. Jack won't last long. So you have a limited amount of time." Slade sounded like he was grinning, "You have but two days before Jack will expire. The clock is ticking Autobots, what will you do?"

The screen flickered out, leaving the base feeling rather empty. Everyone took a few moments to digest what they'd been told. Jack was in Slades possession, Slade was torturing Jack, and they had only two days to find him before Slades methods killed him. A seemingly impossible task. But for Kara, she excelled at dealing with the impossible.

She hardened her gaze and flew up to the terminal next to Ratchets, "Do we still have satellite access?" she asked.

Ratchet rubbed his chin and walked up to the terminal next to her, "I made sure to link up our systems with the old ones first thing when we arrived."

"Good." Kara nodded, her fingers flying across the keys, "Slade doesn't know about our weakness to red solar energy yet. That means he's likely using Dark Energon to restrain him. I'm setting our scanners to search for all Dark Energon signatures on the planet."

"But what if it detects old bucket head instead?" Amber asked.

Kara didn't even look up from her terminal, "It won't. Human technology can't shield the Dark Energon signature yet. Con technology can."

Robin crossed his arms at this, and looked to Cyborg, "Scan for any sign of robberies or other criminal activity that could be connected to Slade. Experimental weapons, power sources, anything he might use to power or upgrade his base." he ordered.

Cyborg nodded and walked up the stairs to one of the terminals with a chair situated in front of it. He sat down and several cables emerged from the ground and jacked into his back. His red eye started to glow brighter, and he began to scan for any activity.

Robin turned to the rest of the team, "The rest of us will investigate Slades old hideouts. Maybe there's a hint to where he is now." The Titans nodded in agreement, except Raven, who remained still.

"Raven?"

She looked at her leader, "I'll stay here." Raven told him, "I can search for him better if I'm, in a quiet area." she ignored the snickers from Sean and Ben.

Robin nodded, "Of course," before Ratchet opened a bridge for the remaining Titans, which they quickly disappeared through.

Raven brought her hood down for the first time since meeting the bots, exposing her face. Her skin of course was grey, but her facial features were soft and delicate. She had short cropped purple blue hair that stopped at the base of her skull, while the front stopped at the base of her chin. A red gem was embedded in her forehead, and her eyebrows were slightly upturned.

She ignored the curious looks she received, and crossed her legs, levitating in place, eyes closed. Her cloak draped down her back and brushed against the floor, before Raven began to chant in her odd language.

"Azarath Metrione Zynthos. Azarath Metrione Zynthos." she repeated those words quietly again and again. As she repeated them, black energy began to swirl around her being. Malthanis tightened his grip on his sword.

Then, with a single burst, a large black raven of only black energy shot up from her, spreading its wings wide before passing through the roof of the base. Raven still sat there meditating, but her eyes were glowing hot white now.

"So…what do we do?" Ultimus asked, walking out from behind his parents.

Optimus II and Elita had both kept him hidden behind them, even though he struggled against it. But once those two put their mind to something… it was hard to go against them.

"We could probably start patrolling across the states," Arcee suggested, keeping her worry and fear hidden in her spark. It only showed in her optics, though no one noticed. At least she hoped not.

"Single man patrols, we scout in the most likely areas." Starscream suggested, speaking for the first time since returning to base.

"And report back if we find anything of notice." Both Optimus' said in sync. That was going to get odd.

Arcee opened her mouth to add something, when she froze, seeing something she shouldn't be seeing.

_Jack was bound to an operating table in a dark room. Only a purple light illuminated him. His suit in tatters, his face cut, bleeding and bruised. Arcee could feel the pain from him as if it were her own, could feel his despair. Tears streaked down his face, tears of pain._

_"P-p-please Sl-slade…no more..." he pleaded, his voice sad and weak._

_Slade appeared from the shadows, arms crossed behind his back, "I'm afraid not, my former apprentice. You must learn that disobedience is to be punished. And you, have been _very _disobedient."_

_He pressed something behind his back, and Jack screamed in pain. Arcee felt the pain and collapsed to her knees, screaming in agony as she too felt the pain. The pain intensified, until everything went black._

Her optics shot open and she found herself on the floor of the base, everyone crowded around her. She felt tears staining her faceplate, tears from the pain. What in the pit just happened to her? Why did she see that?

Both Ratchets and Jolt helped the femme to her feet, moving her to the med bay, "What happened!?" Ratchet demanded, setting her down on a berth. The rest of the base that wasn't looking for Jack (Kara had set the scanners onto automation giving her some freedom) was in the med bay looking at Arcee curiously.

"I…I don't know," she replied. Arcee inwardly debated whether or not to tell the other what she saw. It could just be a pain induced hallucination, and then she'd be restrained from looking for Jack. But on the other hand, maybe there was more to these visions than meets the eye.

She exhaled shakily, "I…I saw Jack,"

The entire room was silent as she told them this. Some of the bots frowned, some seemed lost in thought, and of course a few looked at her like she'd lost it. She didn't blame them, she was pretty sure she had too.

Both Ratchets began to scan Arcee silently, when suddenly, "Jack, you're a genius!" Dusk yelled loudly, causing everyone to look at her and the young Prime. Ultimus gave a quick smile.

"Genius about what?" Ratchet growled, "Can't you see we're trying to concentrate here?"

Jolt and Ratchet II looked at him, "I know she's your patient," Ratchet II said, "But I would suggest listening to Dusk. Most of hers and Ultimus' ideas aren't insane,"

"Thank you Ratchet and…wait…" Dusk frowned, then glared at him, "HEY! My ideas aren't that bad…"

She pointed accusingly at Ultimus, "Most of his are though."

"And who were you just calling a genius a few seconds ago?" Ultimus demanded, arms crossed..

"Doesn't mean you can go from genius to idiot in two seconds," Dusk countered, sticking her tongue out at him. A small smile graced Arcee's lips. Dusk may have been in her 20's, but she certainly didn't act it.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Arcee growled. The hallucinations were bad enough, she didn't need those two bickering at the moment.

Ultimus scratched his head nervously "We think that…" he paused for a moment, like he was debating the next words out of his mouth, "You and Kal might have a bond,"

"A very powerful one," Dusk added.

The room went silent, this information slowly sinking in. Arcee felt her spark stop, the words sinking in. A bond…with Jack. That wasn't possible, shouldn't be possible, and yet… it explained the visions, the odd feelings she sometimes got. But he was an organic, not a Cybertronian.

Both Ratchets seem to have the same thought "H-How is that possible?" one of them stuttered, "He…he's not…"

"Ben and I have a bond," Dusk pointed out softly.

Everyone stared at her in surprise.

"I can't explain it…but we do," she said, Ben came up and held her hand. The two smiled.

"And if Arcee has a bond with Kal," Ultimus added, "She can sense where he is. Anytime, anywhere,"

Arcee realized he was right. She could sense Jack now that she knew about the bond, a pulling sensation in her spark, pulling in a single direction. They could find him, and they could save him.

"Okay, hold on." June said, pinching her nose, "What's a bond?" she demanded.

An awkward silence filled the med bay. Explaining what a bond was to a human… oh this would not end well.

"Well, um…hehehe…I've never had to explain it before," Dusk shrugged, "Way I've always seen it…a bond is basically a type of communication. You can feel emotions, speak through them...basically you can't hide anything through a bond. There are three types of bond: Familiar, Combatant, and…"

She looked at Arcee, who suddenly felt a blue flush creep onto her faceplate. Primus this was embrassing!

"Marital," she finished.

"Familiar bonds are that between families," Ultimus explained, "Mom, Dad, Arcee, Chromia, Ironhide, Dusk, 'Bee and I have one. Dusk has another with her family,"

"Combatant bonds are those between warriors and their leader," Optimus II added, "Only a leader feels them. I know which of my troops are hurt and where they are in battle,"

"Marital…" Elita started, "Are those between two spark mates,"

"Basically husband and wife." Ultimus clarified.

The base was silent once more as everyone digested this information. Kara started snickering, and Junes eyes widened, her face going pale. She looked up at Arcee.

"I swear to Primus June, I am just as shocked as you are." Arcee said defensively. She really had no idea how this had happened, or why.

She nodded shakily, "So Jack…and Arcee are…."

Kara collapsed into a fit of laughter, "Great Rao, they're married! HA!" as serious as the situation was, she just couldn't help it. The situation was too funny. Both Miko's and Ambers would have laughed too, except they were afraid of being scrapped by a certain femme.

Then another thought occurred to Kara, and she nearly fell on her aft, howling with laughter, "That makes…that makes June your mother in law! HAHAHA!" she held her sides as she continued to laugh.

Both Arcee's and Elita's faceplates turned a deep shade of blue at this. It was a _really _awkward situation. June for her part was burning red. The whole implications of what Kara said prevented any of the four females from looking at each other. Though it wasn't much better for Ultimus either.

"Not that this isn't hilarious." Arcee finally managed to growl out, faceplate still deep blue, "But shouldn't we be focusing on the more important matter? Like finding Jack?"

That got Kara to calm down, "Right, right. Sorry." she looked at her friend, "You said that people that are…" she snickered, 'bonded, can track each other right?"

Dusk nodded, "It's how come Ja-Ultimus can't sneak up on any of us."

"That or he just sucks at sneaking around." Miko II and Amber giggled. Miko rolled her eyes while Ultimus glared daggers at them.

Arcee frowned, her blush fading, "But I've never… really been… bonded…" she said, obviously still tripping over the whole thing, "My family was wiped out at the beginning of the war, even Elita. I have no experience with it." she said, optics looking at Junes counterpart, "That's why finding out Ultimus' parentage freaked me out when we first came to your verse. You're dead in this universe."

There was a morbid silence at this revelation. The idea that a universe could be so different, so much darker than their own couldn't sit well with Team Prime II. After all, Elita-1 was both Optimus II and Ultimus' mate and mother. To know she was dead in this universe must have been quiet shocking and scary to both.

"It's not that complicated really." Dusk said, trying to change the subject for everyone's sake, "It's just a sort of pulling sensation in the spark that you feel. There's nothing that can block it except those in the bond."

"And it is doubtful that Jack would know about the bond yet, even if he could feel it." Optimus said, a thoughtful expression on his faceplate.

Arcee took in a deep breath with closed optics, ignoring all else that happened around her, trying to get a better sense of the pull she felt on her spark. It was faint but slowly it grew stronger and stronger until it became an unbearable force. And in an instant, she knew where Jack was.

The realization hit her so hard that her optics snapped open and she nearly doubled over in shock. She did vent heavily though, trying to calm herself, everyone else crowding around her to make sure she was okay.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." she waved them off, before clenching her servos, "And I know where Jack is too."

The entire group looked amongst themselves, before looking back at her, "Where?"

Arcee closed her optics, "Jasper Nevada, under the old K.O Burger."

**A/N: CLIFFHANGER! MWA HA HA HA! And no more chapters from this story until after Christmas, how do you like dem apples!? In all seriousness folks, what did you think of the chapter? Was it good bad, did it surprise any of you? Make sure to review and let me know, or critique whatever might be bothering you. Or heck, just say hello. PM me with ideas, questions, story suggestions (no guarantee there), or anything else that crosses your mind. Same with Elhini. In the meantime, bye!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Hurt

_Jasper Nevada…_

After bridging to the remains of Darkmount, the Autobots had slowly made their way through the abandoned ruins of Jasper, trying not to look at the destruction around them. It wasn't easy ignoring the burnt out buildings or the melted husks of cars. Arcee in particular found it hard to deal with. Of all the bots she'd spent more time in Jasper than any of them. It was almost a second home to her.

The group came to a stop roughly three blocks away from the remains of the K.O Burger, its side still caved in from Jacks rumble with Faora and the Brute. The town had spent most of its time rebuilding more vital infrastructure and Jack had mentioned plans to simply tear down the structure. He had sounded very happy about that development, but now it was one of the few buildings untouched by the cons much to Arcee's disgust.

Before finding out what he was, the femme had watched Jack slave away in the kitchen there, receiving no gratitude for the service he provided, even if he was just handing out food. Knowing now how powerful he was, Arcee had more respect for him for not hurting anyone with his powers. It seemed though that like her boyfriend, Ultimus had no love of the establishment. He glared at it hatefully while Arcee and the few bots that came with them, both Bulkheads and Bumblebee's along with the Wheeljacks, set up a small forward operating base.

Ultimus and Michael would scout the area around the K.O Burger and then report back. Once that was done, they would start bridging the others in, and prepare an assault.

Michael stood next to the young Prime, noting the glare "Lemme guess…you didn't like it either?" he asked.

"I take it Wheeler didn't like it," Ultimus muttered.

"He hated it," Michael nodded, "Of course…it somehow managed to catch fire and burned to the ground in the latter days of our War...our Jack said it was an accident…Trimus said he did it on purpose,"

"Doesn't matter," he replied, "Our counterpart is in there somewhere…and we've got to get him,"

"Think you can get closer?" Michael asked.

"I can try," Ultimus answered.

He focused his eyes on one of the guards patrolling the K.O Burger, one of the few visible and human ones. Slade it seemed trusted them more than his Hench bots, and had a few patrolling the perimeter.

The edges around Ultimus blurred and his height shifted until he was about 5' foot. His ebony hair turned fiery red and his facial features became more squared.

"Turn the eyes green and give about a foot and you look like my brother in law, Riley," Michael commented, handing him an ear piece. They didn't know if Slade had hacked their comm. so they were using one developed by the Titans for the humans.

"Isn't he Rosie's husband?" he asked, slipping it into his ear.

"Never mind…" he dismissed the question, "I'll be right back,"

He got up and started towards the entrance while Arcee and the others got the camera set up. It was located in the ear piece and tapped into the synapses of the brain to decipher what they were seeing. The console flared to life showing exactly what Ultimus saw.

An ID scanner at the remains of the door. A new addition, showing that they really were in the right place.

"Lost?" a growling voice asked from behind him.

The teen sighed and turned around, showing a masked man with glowing green goggles standing before him. He held his rifle tensely, as if he were about to go off at any minute.

"Lost my ID," Ultimus answered with a shrug, "Slade's expecting me…he'd hate it if I was late,"

The guard stiffened " Slade?" he asked, voice shaky, "Why would he need to see you?"

"I've got some new Intel on the Kryptonian," Ultimus explained, "Slade called me personally to tell him what I know,"

His voice took on a darker more threatening tone "You wouldn't want to be the one to keep his very important informant from delivering information now would you?" I asked in a deceptively calm tone.

"N-No sir!" the guard squeaked, and let him in with his own ID.

"I'll commend you to Slade," Ultimus said with a curt nod before walking in, the doors shutting behind him. Most of the K.O Burger had been gutted and it showed that the fallen wall was in fact a holographic image. The actual interior was line in some sort of metal.

"It's lead." Arcee noted, getting a look from Michael.

"Jack and Kara can't see through lead, so Slade uses it for shielding his bases." she explained.

Michael nodded and looked back to the screen "See anything yet?" he asked over comm.

"I just got in," he sighed, "I haven't been able to see anything,"

"Arcee…" he asked," can you see what I see?"

"Perfectly, Ultimus," she replied, using her own comm.

"Think you can direct me to Kal?"

"I can try," she said, unsure of herself.

She watched the screen intently as Ultimus started down a dark stairway that descended into the facility. Suddenly, she got an odd feeling in her spark "Turn left!" she ordered.

He did, and came to a stop at the sight of a grid of lasers crisscrossing the hall. A sigh was audible over the comm.

"There's a laser grid down the hall," Ultimus reported, "I don't know if I can get through,"

It was at that moment a small bridge flared to life, and the Teen Titans emerged into the FOB.

"What's the situation?" Robin asked, stopping at the base of the Autobot sized console.

"Ultimus is in, but he came across a… dilemma." The Titans quickly got atop the console, looking at what Ultimus saw.

"Dude…you can just call in BB," Cyborg sighed, "He could get to the other side and shut off the lasers no problem,"

Robin nodded at Beastboy, who morphed into a fly and took off.

"I was wondering when you guys would show up, Cyborg," Ultimus laughed, "How fast can he get in here?"

"Why don't you ask me yourself?" the green teen asked walking right up next to him.

_'He works fast.'_ Arcee noted silently.

"Very funny," Ultimus said, "Can you get to the other side?" he looked back down the hall.

Beastboy shot him a look that said 'Only that? C'mon, give me a challenge!'.

Quick as a flash, he morphed into a rat and scurried through the laser field to the other side where he shifted back to his human form and disabled the lasers by pulling down on a lever.

"Thanks," Ultimus nodded, walking through. Beastboy nodded with a smug grin. Raven rolled her eyes.

The two of them continued through the maze of corridors, making very little progress. Until they nearly rounded a corner and Ultimus scrambled back, dragging Beastboy with him.

"Dude!" he protested before the Prime clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Shh!" Ultimus hissed, "Guards. Right up ahead,"

"Well then I'll just take 'em out…"

"No," he ordered, "They outnumber us and they're armed to the teeth…and those sharp teeth of yours won't help much,"

The camera shifted as Ultimus peeked around the corner. Arcee let out a small gasp, her spark sinking at what she saw.

"I think we might have just found Kal," he noted.

"What makes you think that?" Beastboy asked.

"That's how," Ultimus pointed at the top of the door. The symbol of the House of El was crudely carved into the top, a disrespectful place for the symbol. It represented hope, and yet it was placed above a prison. Arcee grit her denta angrily.

"We found him," Ultimus reported, "Now we just need to get him out,"

"Get him out, why not join him?" A calm cool voice said. The two whirled to see the last person they expected to see standing there, with over a dozen of his Hench bots.

"Slade." Beast Boy growled, curling his fists.

The one eyed man ignored him, focusing on Ultimus instead, "You must be Ultimus Prime. Jack had quite a bit to say about you. Not all of it good."

Ultimus to his credit tried to call in backup even if everyone could see what was happening. Slade raised a remote and pressed a button on it.

"Ah ah ah. We won't be having anymore of that." he said, and the signal cut.

"Michael, Arcee, Titans, hello!?" Ultimus yelled into his comm. No response.

Slade chuckled, "Now without anymore eavesdroppers, why don't you two surrender." he suggested.

Ultimus tensed and Beastboy morphed into a large green tiger, growling dangerously. Ultimus would have changed too, but the walls and ceiling were too short for him to change into his Cybertronian form. That left hand to hand combat for him.

Slade merely chuckled, "Stand down." he ordered the robots and stepped forward, cracking his neck, "I'll handle these two myself."

Ultimus narrowed his eyes while Beastboy let out a roar and charged forward. Even with all his training, the teen should have beaten Slade with ease. Should have, but didn't. Because Slade did something no one expected.

Firstly, he grabbed the tiger by the throat midair with a single hand. Beastboy morphed back to human form and Slade grabbed the teens foot twisted on his heel and flung him into the wall, stunning him.

The man looked back at Ultimus, his one eye glowing an eerie purple. He pulled out a small steel cylinder, which extended into a large staff. The staff twirled expertly in his hands before he came to a stop in a fighting position, both hands gripping near either end of the staff.

"I certainly hope you can put up a better fight than he did, Prime." he said, his eye seemingly staring into his very soul.

Ultimus shook it off and pulled out his own sword, its edge glimmering in the dim light. Slade smirked behind his mask, a brief memory of his fight with Voidwalker surfacing. Things were different this time that he was sure of.

The two attacked for a brief moment, exchanging blows. Almost from the get go it was obvious Slade had the upper hand. So much was it obvious that it almost seemed like he was toying with him.

Slade jumped back from a horizontal slash from Ultimus' blade and thrust his staff forward, hitting it against the boy's sternum. He stumbled back, coughing and hacking, trying to catch his breath.

There was a sigh, and he looked up at Slade, eyes bleary, "I had expected so much more of you Ultimus Prime. I am disappointed, but not that disappointed. Time to end this."

He dropped the staff with a clatter and stood. Ultimus raised a confused brow, not sure what Slade was planning. Then, suddenly there was a flash of violet light, and everything went black…

_Unknown Location…_

Ultimus groggily awoke some time later in a large room, lit in a dim red color. A groan escaped his lips as he sat up, and he felt a dull throbbing pain at the back of his skull. He brushed a finger over it, and felt something wet. Looking at his fingers, he saw the faint blue glow of Energon.

"Great," he grumbled, staggering upright…and immediately feeling like he was going to fall flat. He tripped over his own feet and crashed to the ground, cursing.

"Great Jack, fall flat on your face while they're probably watching you over the video feed…" he muttered in Cybertronian as he sat up, "If Dusk could see you she'd probably call you a Primus slagged idiot and smack you upside the head,"

He glared into the corner of the room, noting a video camera that sat vigil over him.

There was a sudden shift of movement, making Ultimus swivel his head to a corner of the room where a cot lay "Wh-who's there?" a soft, frightened voice whimpered.

Ultimus froze, recognition on his face. He knew that voice. Because that was his own voice!

"Kal?"he asked.

He spotted movement in the shadowy corner and struggled to his feet, staggering over to it, eyes narrowed. As he approached, a dark figure became visible, huddled in the corner and trembling.

"Kal, is that you?" Ultimus asked again.

The figure lifted his arms and hands, shielding his face. "St-stay back!" he cried, "No more! P-please no more!"

Ultimus kneeled down in front of him, arm outstretched "Kal," he put a hand on his shoulder.

He gave a yell of fear and tried scooting away from his counterpart.

"Kal, easy!" he grabbed Jack's shoulders gently, "Easy!"

"GET AWAY!" he shrieked, "PLEASE! GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Jack!" Ultimus ordered. His tone of voice became deeper and more comforting, a faint blue glow emanating from his shirt, "Stay still!"

The Kryptonian teen flailed about, trying to get his counterpart away from him. One of his arms made contact with Ultimus' face, and from that blow alone he felt how weak the teen was. His great strength was gone.

It was still enough to knock Ultimus away though, and he fell to the floor, a silvery object clattering to the floor. A faint blue started to glow from it, revealing it as the Key to Vector Sigma. Its blue glow mixed with the red light of the room, letting Ultimus see Kal in person.

He cowered from the light, his eyes wide with fear and pain, his face lined with bruises and cuts that had just started to heal. The suit he once wore, the suit that became a symbol to the many people of the world, was replaced with a plain white operating shirt and pants. His shoes were gone, and the white of the clothing was stained with blood.

"Kal," Ultimus put a comforting hand on the teens shoulder.

He flinched at the touch, "It's me…Ultimus,"

He opened his eyes, the dark blue filled with tears, "Ultimus?" he asked softly.

Ultimus nodded, and a brief flicker of hope passed over Jacks face before disappearing, "No," he shook his head, "It's another one of Slade's tricks…" he hid his face back in his arms.

"I wish I could prove it to you," Ultimus sighed, "But apparently Slade knows everything about us…me, Dusk, the rest of my family…your family…"

Jack looked back out of his arms, peaking at his counterpart "Kara…" he croaked.

"Is safe," Ultimus replied, "The 'Cons had her but we saved her. The Titans, Raf in his armor, Miko and her sonic screaming, as if she weren't loud enough…"

Ultimus cracked a smile at that.

"Malthanis, J'onn…"

His eyes flashed as he looked at me.

"How do you know about J'onn," he growled.

"He came and told us he was going to help," Ultimus said quickly, "He was going to help rescue you and Kara…we didn't know you were here while Kara was at Darkmount. Anyway…I helped, as did Dusk, Voidwalker, Krypto, Dusk's parents…"

"H-her parents?"

"New 'Con shattered Dusk's wing…we nearly had to amputate it," he admitted, "Silver and Michael came to save her,"

He stayed silent.

"Does that help?" The Prime asked.

"You could still be t-tricking me," Jack stuttered, hiding back in his arms. He'd fallen for Slades tricks before. And paid the price.

"I know we didn't get along at first," Ultimus sighed, "But I wouldn't lie to you…especially not about that,"

He glared at me.

"Who are you,"

"I told you,"

"No," he growled, "The real Ultimus wouldn't be this nice. And you sound different,"

Ultimus shook his head.

"A lot has happened to me since you left us, Kal-El," he sighed, "I'd like to tell you…but I think we should waste more energy on trying to get you out of here…I'm guessing this light does something to you huh? Kara could barely stand,"

"…Maybe…"

"Still have trust issues huh?"

He glared at me.

"I want you to believe it's me," he said, "I really do…but I don't know how to prove it,"

Jack curled back into a ball, ignoring Ultimus for the time being. He was a hallucination, a trick by Slade. He wasn't real. That was what Jack kept telling himself anyway. The teen wanted him to be real, but he wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't anymore. If he ever could again.

Ultimus sighed and sat on the cot, keeping a watchful eye on Jack in the dim blue light…

_Jasper Nevada…_

A total of two guards exited the K.O Burger, an unconscious Beastboy draped between them. And of course, the two were bickering while dragging him out into a secluded area away from the wrecked building.

"Let's just get rid of him," one of them growled.

"Slade said not to kill him," the other said.

"What Slade doesn't know won't kill him," the first snapped, "Besides…all these meta-humans around…giving me the heebie-jeebies,"

"Who talks like that anymore!?" the second demanded, before throwing Beastboy onto the ground. The teen started to stir ever so slightly.

"Let's just kill him and get it over with,"

"But…!"

"I outrank you so you do as I say!" the first snarled. Beastboy groaned and sat up on his knees, rubbing his head.

"…Fine…" the second sighed, raising his gun at Beastboy's head, "Sorry kid…just orders,"

He never pulled the trigger though, as a flash cut the barrel clean in two right as it fired. The metal exploded in the man's hand, leaving him with severe burns. His attacker was unharmed though, and wrenched the other gun out of the other goons hand. Before he even had time to yell 'hey!' he received a roundhouse kick to the ribs, knocking him to the ground.

Both bleeding men looked up at their attacker to see a winged figure standing in front of them, holding the gun in his hands. He snapped it in two like a stick.

"Wh-what are you!?" one of them stuttered.

His wings shot out, blocking out the sun, fire dancing along the feathers. "Your Angel of Judgement," Michael Greyman snarled.

They screamed and scrambled up to their feet, tripping as they stumbled away as fast as they could.

"Whoa…" Beastboy breathed, dumbstruck.

Michaels wings lowered and the fire flickered out. He turned to Beastboy, kneeling down to make sure he was okay.

"How you doing kiddo?" he asked.

Beastboy narrowed his eyes "Don't call me that," the teen growled.

"Hate to break it to you kid…I'm way older than you and you're a kid compared to me,"

The meta-human looked down at himself and his wrist, "Hurts to breathe…and I think my wrist is broke," he grumbled, "But I'm ok…Ultimus isn't though,"

"What's wrong with Darby?" Michael demanded, "Where is he?"

"Can we get back to the others?" he asked, "That way I don't have to tell the story more than once,"

Michael nodded and picked up Beastboy, slinging him over his shoulders, and jogging over to the FOB. It wasn't long before he reached it, and saw that most of the team minus Voidwalker was there.

"Where's Jack?" Dusk asked as Michael set the boy down on the ground. Silver rushed over and immediately started to tend to his wounds.

Her father frowned "Kid says Darby's missing," he growled, "Something must have happened,"

"And it's called Slade," the Titan snapped, trying to sit up.

Silver shoved him back to the ground, gently but firmly, "Sit still or I'll strap you down on the ground," she threatened.

He gave a soft hiss and Silver snarled back, "I wouldn't push her," Michael warned, "She's nasty when she's mad,"

Dusk to turned to Bumblebee II, "You see, 'Bee…that's where I get my temper from,"

The black and yellow mech shuddered violently as his yellow and black counterpart looked at him confused.

"Put it safely…" Arcee said, "She's almost as bad as Jack and Kara when they lose their tempers,"

That got a reaction from her scout. Everyone on Team Prime knew how bad Jack and Kara were when they got mad. In fact, the only reason Kara wasn't here yet was because June was making sure she had no lasting injuries. Once that was done, the girl would be allowed to come to the FOB.

"Now…" Silver said, taking her hands off her patient, "What were you going to tell Michael about Darby?"

"Slade got him," he muttered, causing Dusk and the black and yellow scout to growl darkly.

"That…that fiend has my brother?" Dusk snarled.

The green teen nodded sadly, "We tried to get to Jack…but Slade found us. We attacked him but I got knocked out and when I came to, they were dragging Ultimus off, unconscious and bleeding kinda bad. Slade disarmed him…I could see his sword in Slade's hands,"

Dusk shook angrily, "I made that sword with my bare hands," she growled darkly, "how dare that glitch hold it! It's an Ivorra's weapon. A Prime's weapon. He has no right!"

"Dusk," Silver warned and motioned back to Beastboy, "Continue, please,"

"Then I got knocked out again and the next thing I know…your dad snapped a gun in two with his fingers and scared the living crap out of the goons that were going to kill me," he finished.

He turned to Arcee.

"We didn't save Jack…I'm sorry," he murmured, "We failed. Now we've got two lives to save…not one."

"She's not the one you have to answer to green bean." Cyborg said, looking at Dusk.

"Hey, it was an accident. I don't know what Slades on this time, but it's made him even more powerful." Beastboy said defensively.

"I don't care what that glitch is on." Kara said, exiting a ground bridge, June behind her. The look on the woman's face dared anyone to send her back. They smartly said nothing.

"We're getting my brother back." the Kryptonian girl finished.

She looked at Beastboy, "Did you see any other ways for the team to get in?" she asked.

He frowned for a minute,

"Actually, I think we saw a big garage or something on our way in. I don't know." his shoulders sagged, "We didn't think Slade would find us that fast."

Kara frowned and crossed her arms, "If they had a garage, or even a loading bay under the ground, then there has to be a ground entrance around here somewhere."

"But finding it could take hours with all this rubble." Robin said, motioning to the ruins of Jasper.

"As long as it doesn't take two days, I don't care how long it takes." Kara said, narrowing her eyes, "This is the last time that Slade hurts my family!"

There was a silence from the group at Kara's determination. Very rarely did anyone see her like this, those from Dusks dimension had never seen her like this. Starscream had a feeling he knew why she was so desperate, but knew that calling her out on it would not only hurt the trust of the others, but would likely be false. The girls motivations were an enigma to the turncoat.

"Hold on," Michael said, a his forehead creasing in thought, "You said that you have X-Ray vision right?"

Kara raised a brow but nodded, "I do, but it wouldn't be very useful right now. Slade shielded his base with lead. My brother and I can't see through lead."

"That's the point," Michael said, a grin spreading across his face, "You can see through everything _but _lead. Meaning that if you were to scan the area…"

Kara's eyes widened in realization, "Anything I can't see through is Slades base!"

Michael snapped his fingers, "Exactly. Now all we need to do is find a large area, and that's likely the garage. We can get into the base from there."

"We need a strike force," Silver said, stepping forward, "Nothing too big…that will set off Slade's alarms…but nothing too small because that won't help us save Jack…either of them,"

"I'm going," Dusk said firmly, "And you're going to have to hold me and Kara back to say otherwise,"

Silver frowned "Then I'm coming with you," she growled, "You've gotten away from Michael and I the first time…I'm not going to let that happen again,"

Bumblebee II started forward, obviously wanting to help them find his adopted brother.

"No, 'Bee," Dusk ordered, "I can't have you getting hurt…not again. The only way you'd be able to fit in there is if we had the Mass Shifter…and that breaks armor and makes it weaker. And we don't have Jack to change you either,"

The young bot bowed his head letting out a sigh.

Dusk sighed and patted his armor, "You'll be ok,"

Krypto padded forward and pushed his wet nose against Silvers face. She looked at him and the two locked eyes, a message passing between them.

"You want to come too, huh?" she asked.

He gave a soft bark of affirmation.

"So I guess this is our team," Silver looked around the group, "Dusk, Michael, Kara, Krypto and me,"

She turned to the others, "You all…keep them distracted long enough for us to get it, grab Kal and Darby and then get out,"

The group nodded and headed out into the ruins of Jasper to engage Slades forces. Once they were gone, Michael turned to Kara.

"Kara," he said, "Now would be a good time to found out where Slade's base is,"

The group of five snuck out of the FOB to where Michael and Ultimus had been scouting the K.O Burger, and stood guard while Kara narrowed her eyes, watching the layers of concrete and piping peel away, trying to find anything that might lead into the base.

"See anything yet?" Silver asked Kara as she continued to scan the area.

"Not yet…wait," she froze, "Found it,"

She looked around and started forwards, gesturing at us, "C'mon, this way," she said.

They all carefully made their way to where Kara said she saw the entrance. They found the entrance ironically under the high school, no more than a block away. Kara scowled.

"Of all the places." she growled to herself.

They found a tunnel into the ground and made their way down it, before coming to a stop at a large heavily barred door.

"Anyone say 'Open Sesame?'" Michael asked dryly.

Dusk smirked "When you've got Kal or Kara with you…forget the doorbell,"

Kara returned the smile and walked up to the door. With minimal effort, she worked her fingers into the seams of the door, and proceeded to crush the door, ripping it off its hinges and tossing it to the side. The door clattered on the floor, and Kara dusted her hands off, looking down into the darkness.

"That's useful," Silver nodded.

"Let's go," Michael said, following in behind Kara.

They walked through the dark empty hall, silent except for the sound of their footsteps. It wasn't long though before Kara let out a yelp followed by a solid 'thunk'!

"You alright?" Dusk asked, catching her friend.

"Yeah, there's a wall there." she warned, Dusk chuckling at her little mistake.

Kara ignored it and got back up, punching the wall. It proceeded to explode out into what seemed to be a large mess hall. Tables were scattered everywhere, with guards sitting at them. Some guards looked like ordinary soldiers, but Kara's eyes widened at the others.

They were MECH soldiers, plain and simple. Their green armor and glowing goggles made it obvious. And they were staring at the five, utterly frozen, like deer in the headlights.

"Okay, listen up." Kara announced, "You have exactly five seconds to leave before I start cracking skulls, got it!?"

The men looked amongst each other, then at Kara. Or more specifically the symbol on her chest. Then they ran, without a moment's pause every single guard left the room, some of their trays clattering on the table they moved so fast.

Dusk snorted, "Wow, never thought I'd see that." she laughed.

Silver gave her daughter a 'be serious' look, making her laughter stop, "The area might be cleared of guards, but they might have alerted Slade to what happened. We need to move, quickly."

"You ain't goin nowhere toots." a voice said from one of the darker corners of the room, causing everyone to freeze and look at the corner.

"And who are you?" Kara demanded, feeling impatient.

The man, for clearly it was a man, smirked, "Oh that's right, you weren't there. Only your jerk brother and that damn mutt." he stood up, to a height that nearly dwarfed Cyborg.

Krypto snarled, a familiar scent entering his nose. He remembered this thing, the one thing that had truly hurt his master. And now it was back.

"Hey pooch, remember me?" the man asked, stepping out from the shadows.

The man had pale skin and platinum hair with a strong jaw and a pair of pitch black shades over his eyes. He wore a dress suit that combined with his glasses made him look like a bodyguard. But something about the way he moved and sounded felt… off. It was too fluid, too unnatural. As if he were a robot, not a human.

The man approached, stopping in the center of the room where the tables were farthest apart, and smiled. The team looked at him shocked, his teeth were sharp and made of metal. And then he removed his glasses, tossing them aside.

His eyes were pitch black, making him appear soulless if it weren't for the acid green irises in the middle of the eye. Kara made the connection and hunched down, fists clenched.

"Metallo." she growled, earning a confused look from Dusk, "You're supposed to be dead. Krypto killed you."

Metallo laughed, "He ripped my head off girly. Not the same thing."

A creepy smile spread across his face, "But I bet you remember how I was able to manhandle your brother, don't you?"

Kara took a step back, and Metallo chuckled, walking forward, "Oh yes, you do. This is going to be fun."

With that said, he gripped his shirt and pulled it apart, revealing that his sternum was glowing a sickly green. It was then Kara realized that Metallos clothes were lined with lead. Because she almost instantly collapsed. She felt sick, weak… like someone was tearing her apart on the inside.

"Poor girl, looks like she's a little sick." Metallo looked at the others, "So, whose first?"

**A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Metallo lives! How many saw that coming huh? Very few I bet, unless I told you. Anyway, sorry for the late posting, life got in the way and so blame me. But also remember to review with critique and PM with questions and Ideas. Bye!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Downfall

_Slade Headquarters…_

The infiltration team and Metallo stared each other down, neither side making a move to attack. Kara was still struggling to her feet getting ready to fight while Dusk, Michael, and Silver had their weapons drawn. Krypto snarled angrily at Metallo, his fangs bared fearsomely.

Metallo chuckled at the stances and raised his fists in a boxer position, "So you want to fight huh? Even with the girl out of the fight?" he grinned, "Oh this is gonna be fun."

The group spread out around Metallo, while Krypto stayed with Kara, standing over her protectively. They held their swords at the ready, and fire flickered around Dusks knuckles. She looked angry, really angry that is.

His acid green optics watched them with disinterest. He looked very bored all things considered, "Well, are you gonna fight, or just stand there all day? Come on, I wanna challenge!"

There was a roar of anger and Dusk charged in, fire sparking along her wings. She brought her blade down to lop off Metallo's arm, only to be met with a metallic clang, her sword coming to an abrupt halt. Metallo smirked, holding her blade tightly in one hand, the flames around it having no affect on his hand.

"Honey, do you know _why _I'm called Metallo?" he asked, ignoring the fire.

Silver and Michael both charged in and struck at different parts of his body. Michael went for the neck and Silver the legs. They both dug in about an inch into his flesh before halting. Metallo grinned widely.

"It's because my skeleton is made of the stuff. Your dinky little blades ain't gonna do _nothin _against me. Only the brat and his dog could hurt me." he said, before twisting on his heel and knocking Silver and Michael away with their daughters body.

The man casually strolled towards the three as if he had all the time in the world. Being a robot of nigh indestructible metal, that was a very high possibility. Metallo cracked his knuckles as he walked forward.

"You know, beating the utter crap out of the brat just for the heck of it was fun and all," he said, standing over the three, "But killing you? Oh that's going to be a time to remember, won't-"

There was a scream of rage followed by a rustle of wind and Metallo was knocked backwards, slicing through some of the metal tables before hitting the stone wall with a resounding _crack_! Bits of the masonry broke off and fell to the floor, and the man peeled himself off the wall, leaving the remains of his shirt behind. Bits of his flesh were scraped away, revealing the metal skeleton underneath.

He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, before looking at Kara standing there, hunched over and exhausted, but powering through the effects of the Kryptonite for the moment. Her friends and the last of her family were in danger. _Nothing _would stop her.

"You want to fight!?" she screamed, "Then fight me you twisted piece of scrap!"

Kara slammed her foot into the ground and the earth shook, knocking Metallo back and forth before the girl took off and slammed into him again. This time he was ready for it though, and caught her. Still, the force of the impact was enough to push him back several feet. Metallo didn't let that affect him though, instead choosing to deliver a mean right hook to Kara's face.

The Kryptonians head whipped to the side and she stumbled away before steadying herself and glaring at the machine. Her hand tightened and she proceeded to hit Metallo as hard as she could. There was an earth shaking explosion, and the man nearly went down. But like one of those sparring dummies, he got right back up, the flesh on the left side of his face completely torn away, revealing what looked like a metal skeleton with glowing green eyes.

That blow had almost all of Kara's strength put into it. And Metallo had practically shrugged it off, the most he had was a dislocated jaw, which didn't stay that way for long. Metallo grabbed the low hanging jaw and with a single distinct crack, moved it back into place.

"You've got a mean right hook darlin." he worked his jaw while talking, "Now let me show you mine."

Metallo punched at her face, Kara barely managing to grab the fist, her arms shaking trying to hold it back. The machine man laughed manically, "What's the matter Kryptonian!?" he roared, the Kryptonite in his chest flaring brighter, "You look a little green in the gills."

It was true, the more they fought, the sicker Kara felt. Her strength was failing her, and beads of sweat were pouring down her face. She didn't stand a chance against this guy, not with that hunk of rock in his chest anyway.

Lucky for Kara though, she wasn't alone.

Metallo froze at the sound of metal scraping against metal, and looked down at his side to see a blade jutting from his side. Silver's blade.

The _Ivorra _snarled angrily and flung Metallo off the girl with her sword, before sparks arched up her arms down the sword and into Metallo. The android yelled in pain, the electricity engulfing his body which began to violently convulse. His acid optics focused on her, and he grabbed the sword with his hand, the flesh starting to smoke in that area.

With an angered roar, he ripped it out of him, and out of her grasp, before tossing the blade away and proceeding to head butt her head with his own head. There was a loud clang and she stumbled back, the sparks dying for the time being.

Not that Metallo escaped unharmed, his skin was covered in burn marks, bits of his metal skeleton poking through his flesh. Metallo looked at his burned upper body and scowled.

"You know, I hate it when people do this." he growled, before griping his skin, "I prefer to keep my skin, but hey, guys gotta do what a guys gotta do."

The group looked in horror at Metallo. With a single flick of his wrist, his skin tore off like clothe, revealing what he really looked like. Kara looked at him disgusted, no being should have to be what Metallo was.

His entire body was nothing more than a metal skeleton with large plates of armor covering his more delicate circuits and the muscles strands that gave him his strength. The kryptonite shard was fully exposed now, and Kara fell on her rear, backing away slowly, feeling sick.

Dusk helped her friend up, "Come on, we've got this Kara." she said.

"No," Silver corrected, "Michael and I have this. You, Kara, and Krypto go and find the Jacks." she ordered.

"But mom!" Dusk protested, only for Silver to cut her off.

"We can handle him, there are too many of us here to take him on, that's why he's winning. Smaller numbers gives us an advantage." she reasoned, "And the longer both Darbys are left in Slade's care, the worse condition they'll be in."

Dusk hesitated. "You know where Darby is because you have a familiar bond with him," Silver continued, "You find him, you find Kal since he knows where Kal is,"

Dusk gave a slight nod. Metallo started in on Silver, but didn't get far before Michael flung a fireball at him. The flames washed over Metallo, not really damaging him, but making him glare at Michael angrily.

"Hey! Tin Man! Over here!" he shouted, waving his sword in the air, "Why don't you pick on someone who isn't feeling like they've been through a trash compactor!"

He turned towards Michael, before Silver raised a hand and lightning arched off it, slamming into Metallo, making sparks flying off his metal chassis. He turned back to her and scowled.

"No, over here Junkyard Scrap!" she jeered, "You and I have unfinished business!"

"GO!" Michael shouted, giving Dusk a shove, "We'll keep him off your tail!"

Dusk looked at her parents with a forlorn expression. The two Ivorra's drew their blades and looked at Metallo, "Go, we'll be fine. We can handle one overgrown tin can." they said confidently.

Krypto, to their shock padded up next to them, snarling at Metallo. The metal man looked at the dog nervously, remembering what the dog had done to him last time. And the message his stance was sending was quiet clear. Krypto wanted a chance to rip Metallo apart too.

"It's…fine." Kara told Dusk, who looked at the three nervously, "Krypto has immunity to Kryptonite…he'll be okay." she smiled weakly.

Dusk looked at them one more time before letting out a sigh and closing her eyes, "Alright, lets go save our brothers."

_Jasper Nevada…_

Elita was freaking out. Just plain and simple. She had heard that Ultimus was captured and it brought back a whole bunch of memories for her. The other bots, Optimus, Arcee II all tried to comfort her, but it was to no avail. She was in full on mother mode, and nothing would stop her. Something June understood.

"You don't understand!" Elita yelled as Optimus II tried again, and failed, to get her to stay behind, "That's my son in there, OUR SON!"

All the bots exchanged looks. This was not going to end well. If Elita was anything like June, they already knew where this was going.

"And if you think I'm going to stay here and wait until someone comes and rescues him for us…" she growled, before onlining her blaster and glaring at the entrance to Slade's base, "Think. Again,"

And with that, she charged out. Optimus II had stayed silent, a smart move on his part. Optimus Prime looked at his own Autobots, "The infiltration team will need a distraction. Time to engage our assault Autobots!" he ordered.

The bots all roared and approval and transformed, driving off to attack Slades Headquarters. Arcee was about to join them, when she noticed the Titans, "You coming with?" she asked

Robin shook his head, "No, we're going to follow the infiltration team, call it a hunch, but I think that they'll need us more than you will."

Arcee smiled, "Okay then, good luck to you." she said, and transformed, driving off to join the others.

Once she was gone, the Teen Titans took the same path as the infiltration team, and began to follow them…

_Later…_

Arcee raced down the streets, having just lost a group of dopplegangers. Somehow, she wasn't sure exactly how, Slade had access to robotic versions of their team, all of them. And not just a single copy, multiple ones. Arcee had just escaped three clones that looked like her, not wanting to try her luck against them.

Now she needed to find one of the other bots. She got lucky when she heard the sound of blaster fire coming from one of the alleyways. She saw another three of her doubles engaging a group of bots. Transforming, Arcee let out a yell and brought her arm blades out, decapitating one of them before rolling behind some cover. She was shocked to see her counterpart and Elita there too.

"Huh, small world." her counterpart said, firing at the clones.

Elita recoiled as a shot bounced off their cover "I see this one's aim takes off of you," she said, referring to one of the Arcees

Both femmes glared at her, "My aim is pretty good," they huffed before exchanging looks.

"Not compared to mine and Chromia's," she shot back..

"Where did these guys come from anyway?" Arcee II asked, shooting from around her corner at one of the doubles.

Arcee scowled, "MECH probably. They made a whole batch of clones of us before. We took them out, but they got away. Wouldn't surprise me if MECH and Slade were in kahoots."

Elita frowned before sticking back out from cover and firing a shot. One of the clones stumbled back as the shot nicked its shoulder.

"C'mon!" Arcee shouted, unsheathing her blades and charging, "Not gonna let this piece of junk best us, right?"

"Right," Elita growled, following after, "It's just another obstacle between me and my son,"

They rushed forwards, descending on the hapless machine, slashing and shooting and not giving it any chance to get free. Both Arcee's flipped over one counterpart and lopped its head and midsection off. Elita blasted the other to bits leaving nothing but steaming scrap metal in their wake.

"Well they're dead," Arcee II shrugged, retracting her blades, "Now what?"

They looked around the large alleyway, "I think we're lost," Elita said.

"Then let's find our way back." Arcee growled, before shuddering, gripping at her spark.

The two looked at her concerned, "It's not me." she rubbed her spark, "It's Jack, I can feel him. He's terrified, scared of something."

A deep seductive laugh echoed from above, causing the three to look up, "Oh, is poor Jack a little scared?" the voice asked.

Arcee's optics widened than narrowed. She knew that voice, she'd know it anywhere, "Airachnid." she hissed.

Elita and Arcee II exchanged looks, before looking up the wall. The sound of tinkling was heard and the spider bot slowly emerged from the shadows, her fanged denta bared in a sadistic smile.

"Arcee, how lovely to see you again," the spider bot said happily before her purple optics noticed the _other _Arcee and Elita.

"Two Arcee's, and a femme. Ooh this will be fun. What's the human phrase? Three birds with one stone? Whatever," she held her hands up, her blasters warming up, "Either way, this will be fun."

The spider femme opened fire and the three scattered, rolling behind cover, Airachnids blasts doing little to break it. Arcee scowled and fired wildly over the cover, trying to get Airachnid out of her position. It was to no avail, she had very little in the way of luck.

Arcee looked at her counterpart and Elita, "Any plans?"

Elita grinned, "I've got one,"

After a quick explanation of her plans, the femme ran off while both Arcee's continued to fire on Airachnid. Not a bad part of the plan in Arcee's humble opinion.

"Why come here anyway Airachnid!?" she demanded while firing, "Your last alliance with humans didn't work so well."

Airachnid chuckled, "Very true Arcee, very true. But see, this time I get something much better out of this deal."

A grin split her faceplate, "I get your precious Jack. What better way to destroy you then to not only take your partner from you," she stalked forward to the cover, "But to take him as my lover too."

Arcee shuddered, resisting the urge to purge. Her counterpart looked at Arcee confused, "Airachnid has had a crush on him ever since MECH captured June." she explained, trying not to vomit.

Arcee II shuddered in agreement, that was disgusting.

"You know he'd never want you!" Arcee yelled over the rubble.

Airachnid laughed, "That might have been true before Arcee, but things have changed. Little Jack is utterly broken, tortured to near death by Slade. The one he loved never came to save him, so how do you think he'll react when I'm the only comfort he has?"

Arcee trembled angrily, her servo's clenching repeatedly. Her counterpart knew what was happening, "Arcee, she's baiting you, it's what she does, we both know that."

"And in the end, when you die Arcee, he won't even care. Because he'll be all. Mine!"

That did it.

Arcee roared furiously and leapt over the rubble, charging at Airachnid, blades extended, her vision red. She was vaguely aware of other voices calling her, but she didn't hear them. Her rage had consumed her.

Airachnid barely had time to turn and block Arcee's assault. She used her long extra legs to block the initial blows, but was almost immediately overwhelmed by the sheer ferocity of the attacks. She'd expected to lure Arcee into a trap, not anger her into an uncontrollable fit of rage!

"He will never be yours!" Arcee screamed, slicing the legs away for the moment, "You don't love him, you don't care about him! You know nothing about him!"

Airachnid let out a pained yelled as one of her extra limbs was lopped off, "You're a monster, no one will ever love you! Least of all Jack!"

Arcee kicked Airachnid in the midsection, knocking her away, "Die!" the femme screamed, and knocked her blade against Airachnids helm. There was a loud crack, and the spider-bots helm went flying off, the femme collapsing to the ground while Arcee stood over her panting hard.

"Get up you piece of scrap," she hissed, barely noticing the others coming up behind her, "Get up so I can tear your twisted spark out."

Slowly, the spider bot got up, her arms wrapped around her head. She faced Arcee unsteadily, "I don't appreciate you breaking my helm Arcee." she snapped, and lowered her arms, exposing her faceplate and helm.

The three femmes nearly collapsed in shock at the face they saw. The armor under her normal horned helm was a pale red, from lack of sun exposure and care more than likely, and her faceplate lay in a shattered remains in her servos, exposing blue optics and normal denta. Her face… it was exactly the same as Elita's.

_Slade's HQ…_

Dusk and Kara made their way through the halls of Slades base, the fight between Metallo and the others echoing through the entire base. The occasional tremor ran through the structure too, causing dirt and debris to rain on them.

The two ignored it though, and ran through the halls, looking for the cell were their brothers were being held. It was surprisingly easier than they thought, as they came to the cell door within five minutes after leaving Dusks folks and Krypto to fight Metallo.

Kara scowled as the door came into view, her eyes focused on the El family crest carved above the doorway.

"That is my family symbol, a symbol for hope. And these monsters would put it above a prison!" she snarled, hands clenching tightly.

Dusk put a hand on her shoulder and looked at the cell with a mix of anger and disgust, "The sooner we get them out of there Kara, the better, okay?"

Nodding, Kara strode over to the door and took in a deep breath. She wasn't going to let her brother be trapped in there any longer. She reached her fingers along the seams of the door and dug them in, the metal door bending and screaming under the pressure. Once she had a secure grip on the door, she heaved on it, listening to metal twist and tear as she pulled.

With a single final heave, she flung the door away, and red light spilled out of the room. Kara stepped out of the way, eyes wide, "Red sun rays." she murmured.

Scowling, the girl used her heat vision to extinguish light from which the rays were emanating from. The room fell into darkness, the only light coming in from the hallway. With that little problem solved, Kara and Dusk entered the room to see a familiar figure, pinned under a large rock about six feet in diameter.

"Jack!" Dusk screeched and shot to Ultimus' side, kneeling next to him with concern on her face.

The Prime looked up at her with bleary eyes "Dusk?" he croaked, "That you?"

She nodded "It is you," Ultimus whispered, reaching shakily up to her cheek, "You came…I…I thought you gave up on us,"

Dusk smiled weakly "Now why would I ever leave you in this Pithole?" she asked, before looking around the nearly empty and dark room "Where's Kal?"

Ultimus shifted his other arm, groaning slightly, to reveal Jack curled up against the wall, his entire body trembling in fear. Kara felt a pang of sadness and helplessness at the sight of him, but they had to deal with Ultimus and the rock crushing his legs at the moment.

"I…I shoved him out of…the way…" he answered, struggling to get the words out, "M-My legs…I can't feel them,"

Dusk's face turned grim, "Don't look," she ordered as he strained to see what happened. Saying that made him try to look even more.

There was Energon everywhere, his legs pinned by the huge slab of rock to the floor. Part of his right leg poked out of the rock, with a thin silver piece of metal jutting from his skin. Ultimus looked ready to purge as she and the others realized it was his bone.

Ultimus' eyes fluttered and started to close "Jack…" Dusk started worriedly, "Jack stay with me, don't fall asleep," She shook his shoulders, trying to keep him from nodding off.

"He's going to go into shock if we don't do anything," Dusk said to Kara, "I'm afraid to move anything because I might damage him further,"

"If you lift the rock straight up I think you won't hurt him," said.

Jack poked his head up slightly "Kara?" he asked

Kara gave a smile, "It's me," she answered, kneeling down "I'm here,"

Jacks eyes lit up in hope…but that hope quickly vanished again, and he buried his head in his legs. "No…another trick…why can't they stop tricking me?" he whimpered

Kara felt like someone had slapped her. To see her brother, the boy who for nearly everyone at base was their equivalent of a Prime, and a leader to some, so utterly broken like that… it brought tears to her eyes.

"He…he's been like that for a…while…" Ultimus groaned, "Thinks…everything is a…trick…Slade…Slade tortured him pretty bad."

Dusk's fists clenched,"All the more reason to make sure that…" she racked her brain for a word that wouldn't make Amber yell at her, "Gormless Cretin never sees the light of day,"

"Get in line," Kara hissed, "You can have what molecules I leave,"

"I'll hold you to that,"

"That's nice…that you want to off him…" Ultimus growled, "But…can't move…and he doesn't believe us…"

Kara's face hardened and she moved to the rock, "Hold onto something, this is going to hurt." she warned.

Ultimus nodded and proceeded to grip Dusk's hand till his knuckles turned white. Getting into a good lifting position, Kara wrapped her fingers around the large piece of rubble, and heaved it off him with ease. Once it was off him, he tossed it to the side, letting it land with a heavy boom in the corner.

"Huh, your legs don't seem to be in that bad of shape." Kara said, referring to his left leg. Though it was twisted awkwardly to the side, there was no bone piercing it. Kara knelt down next to him, eyes narrowed as she used her X-Ray vision to look at the damage.

"A few hairline fractures along your thigh, and it's been dislocated. You won't be able to stand, but… we're going to need to pop it into place." she warned.

Ultimus tightened his grip on Dusk, "Just…get it over with…" he hissed over the pain.

Nodding, Kara gently took the limb, and with a flick of her wrist, popped it back into place. Ultimus let out a yell of pain, and heaved for breath, perspiration beading on his forehead.

"Remind…remind me never to…stand under falling rubble." he ground out.

Dusk smiled softly, "I'm just glad you're ok," she whispered.

He shot her a 'really!?' look and his gaze flicked down to his legs.

"Other than your legs," she amended.

"No, stay away!" Jack screeched, and the two looked to see Kara knelt in front of him, trying to talk with her brother. Trying and failing.

"Your just a t-trick! Another trick!" he screamed, huddling against the corner.

A few tears spilled from Kara's eyes, "Kal… please," she pleaded.

Jack covered his face with his arms, trembling and muttering to himself about how it was all just another trick. Kara held back a sob before her face hardened. Moving fast, she wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight.

The tortured boy screamed and thrashed against her, trying to break free, but while his strength was gone, Kara's was not. And she held him like that, against his thrashing, and stroked his head, singing something softly in Kryptonian. The words were lost on all those present, but the strength and emotion behind them was evident. The language of the Kryptonians is a language where every word conveys tremendous emotion.

And it was these emotions, sadness, hope, concern, and love that could be felt in the song that she sang while crying and holding her brother and the last of her family tight. And eventually, the singing stopped and Kara and Jack sat there, the latter had stopped thrashing.

"K-Kara? Is it really you?" he whimpered into her chest.

Kara smiled, "Yes, it is Kal."

And the boy returned her hug a thousand fold, sobbing heavily into her shoulder. He sobbed and sobbed and sobbed, all the while holding his sister tightly. For a moment the base was silent, and Jacks sobs were the only sound.

"I'm so sorry…" he sobbed, earning a confused look from Kara.

"Sorry? For what?"

"F-for everything I said." he sniffed "I didn't mean it, I-I never meant it. I never want to lose you. I'm so sorry Kara."

Kara just smiled and hugged her brother, after everything they'd both been through, she was more than willing to forgive him. It was in the past now, not something they needed to focus on. At the moment, all she wanted to do was be with her brother.

"Kal?" Ultimus asked softly, afraid of breaking up the tearful reunion, but needing to so they could get out of here, "You feeling better?"

The Kryptonian looked up at him.

"You're not screaming it's a trick anymore…" Ultimus said awkwardly, "I…"

He looked away, a fiery blush heating his cheeks. Dusk rubbed his shoulder. "You sure know how to break up a fluffy moment, don't you, little brother?" she teased.

"You have your legs crushed, see how you like it," he growled softly.

"Had my wing crushed…'bout the same if not worse amount of pain," the girl countered, "Now sit still. I'm going to try to get you so we can move you, ok?"

Ultimus nodded and took in a shaky breath. Dusk slipped an arm around him and tried putting another under his injured legs. Immediately he howled in pain, prompting her to stop.

"O-okay, t-that won't wo-work." he stuttered, sweat trickling down his face.

"We need to get out of here though, and if we aren't leaving you." Dusk said, frowning, "We'd need a healer, a medic or something."

"Well why didn't ya'll ask?" Cyborg said, he and the Titans, minus Beastboy, entering the room. Robin and Starfire kept sentinel outside for guards.

Dusk looked up at them, utter relief written across her face. Ultimus gripped her hand and she rubbed his with her thumb.

"Jack's hurt," she explained, "Please…I can't move him without causing him pain,"

"Raven can help," Cyborg jerked a thumb at her.

Dusk looked at the cloaked Titan, "Please," I breathed.

She gave a nod and came towards Ultimus. He tensed as she put her hands on his leg, his eyes flickering to bright, pain-filled electric blue.

"We've got to set the bone first," Dusk said, and looked at her brother, "Jack…this is really going to hurt…but once I get it fixed it won't hurt as bad, I promise,"

"Do it…quickly," he ground out.

She grit her teeth and carefully gripped the slick bone and shifting it back into place, Jack whimpering and gasping in pain. Once it was back in place, he let out a shuttering breath.

"Hold him down," Raven instructed.

Dusk pinned his arms to the ground.

Raven murmured something under her breath and her hands flickered with black energy. Jack jerked under my arms and screamed, his eyes flaring brightly, turning almost optic-like in pain. I bit my tongue as he screamed, the sound was like someone tearing a piece of sheet metal in two and scraping nails down a chalkboard.

He shrieked in Cybertronian, tears of brilliant blue Energon streaming down his face. No one but Dusk could understand him, but the message was fairly clear. The pain was unbearable.

"Almost there," Raven said, her eyes glowing white hot. The skin around the injury bubbled and flowed like water, slowly melding together, the silver of his bone slowly disappearing under the pale flesh.

"It's ok," Dusk cooed, trying to ease his pain, "Just a little longer,"

Slowly the flesh sealed tight, leaving only a faint scar. Ultimus nearly passed out there, breathing hard, his entire face coated in sweat.

"I was only able to reduce it to a fracture." Raven bowed her head, "He'll still need help getting out of here. And when the time comes, he'll need a few days rest, maybe a brace."

Ultimus nodded shakily, and Dusk helped him up. He hissed in protest, "Shut it you big baby, it's better than it could be."

Kara smiled and looked at her brother, "Can you stand?"

"I-I don't... I don't know." he said. Kara stood and offered a hand to him, which Jack took. All the while his body trembled, not from fear, but from mere fatigue. He was tired, he was hurt, and he was weak. Kara helped him to his feet, only for Jack to nearly collapse, had she not caught him.

"We need to get him to some sunlight." she told the others, "He'll start to heal once that's done."

The group nodded, and the Titans escorted the girls and their brothers out of the cell that had been the source of untold pain for the entire group. Ultimus would let out a pained hiss every other step, while Jack just continued to tremble, and muttered to himself incoherently. It was so quiet though that the group could only pick out bits and pieces.

"He won't let me leave… always watching…punished…" it was infuriating to see someone they knew to be so strong reduced to a quivering wreck.

"Kal, it's okay, we're not going to let anything bad happen to you." Kara promised, giving her brother a comforting smile.

His trembling lessoned to a degree, but it was still very noticeable to Kara. But it wouldn't be much of a problem though, as the group emerged into the mess hall to see Michael, Silver, and Krypto engaging Metallo in a fierce struggle.

Entire sections of the room were engulfed in flame thanks in part to Michael no doubt, and hydraulic fluid and Energon stained the floor. Chunks of the ceiling and wall were missing, and in the center of it all, Michael, Silver, and Krypto danced around Metallo, striking and attacking the metal monster every chance they got.

Silver had a few minor cuts along her arm and face, causing Energon to leak over her eye, and leaving her partially blinded. The feathers of her wings were scattered about, and a few were actually wedged in Metallo's servos. Michael wasn't in much better shape, with a nasty gash along his ribs, and his wings dripping Energon.

Of the three, only Krypto seemed unharmed. His fur coat was wild and stained with both Energon and hydraulic fluid, his chops stained in the stuff. He currently was circling Metallo, his hair on end and snarling at the android.

And Metallo, well he looked like he'd taken a beating. Several tubes along his side were severed, a the semi clear hydraulic fluid dripping onto the floor. He had a few dents lining his body, with one nasty one on the side of his skull. And yet, he was unhindered by these injuries. Unlike the Autobots or Cybreians, Metallo wasn't hindered by a nervous system. He did not feel pain, and was not slowed because of it.

Michael and Silver briefly glanced over at the group and then back at each other before nodding. Metallo glared at them both, "Well!? I'm waiting!" he roared, spreading his arms wide.

Holding their swords with both hands, both mother and father charged at the metal man, letting out fearsome war cries. Silver leapt up at the machine while Michael slid across the floor. Both husband and wife slashed across Metallo's chassis, showering the area in sparks.

Michael twisted on his back and got to his feet, and began thrusting, slashing, and cutting at the machine, causing Metallo to stumble back as the sword finally began to cut into his metal frame. Silver landed behind him and assaulted him from behind, forcing him to divide his attention between the two.

Both fighters slowly cut him down before Metallo roared furiously and knocked Silver away, "That's it! Both of you die!"

He was about to charge after them, before he halted, and looked down at his ankle. Krypto had his jaws locked firmly in place around his ankle, snarling at Metallo all the while. He didn't even let go once Metallo started kicking him.

"You stupid. Little. Mutt!" he slammed his foot on Krypto's muzzle. The dog let out a yelp and released Metallo, in time for Silver and Michael to assault him again.

With his guard down though, he stood no chance. His metal plating was strong enough to resist their blades. But not the metal that made up his joints. Silver slashed the inside of his knee, causing him to go down, Michael slashed across his other side, hydraulic fluid spraying everywhere.

Flames licked across Michaels sword, and with a yell, he stabbed Metallo in the chest, his blade piercing the shard of Kryptonite. Metallo looked at the sword piercing his chest then back up at Michael.

"You son of a-" he never finished, as Silver lopped his head off, sending it rolling across the floor.

Metallo's body went limp and slid off Michaels sword. The _Ivorra _sheathed it and stood up smiling at his wife, "Excellent timing as usual honey," he smiled, giving her a quick kiss.

"Oh shove it!" Metallo yelled as a disembodied head.

Everyone looked down at the metal skull, trying hard not to laugh. Even Jack cracked a smile at that, seeing one of his greatest foes reduced to a talking head. The laughs broke out when Krypto trotted over to the head and picked it up in his jaws, and then walked over to a section of exposed dirt.

Digging into the ground, he held Metallo's head over it, "Hey, wait, what are you doing!?" his head landed in the hole with a clatter, Metallo letting out a host of curses.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" he screamed, dirt being flung in the hole, "You mutt! When I get my body back I'll mmm mm m m!" his ranting stopped as he was buried under a mound of dirt. Krypto patted the dirt down with his tail to smooth it over, before kicking a few bits of dirt onto the pile and trotting towards the group, head held high.

Ultimus gasped, laughing and nearly crying at the same time.

"M-My ribs…they hurt!" he gasped.

Michael and Silver walked up to the group, the former taking in how injured the Prime was. From his injured leg to the trickle of Energon dripping down his neck, Ultimus looked like scrap.

"What in the universe happened to you?" Michael asked.

"Don't ask," he sighed, "I…I need to get to Ratchet…that's all I can say,"

The _Ivorra _nodded and looked at Jack, who was staring at the floor mumbling to himself incoherently. Even as broken as he was, his height and well toned form were still impressive. He was about as tall as Dusk now, if he weren't hanging loosely next to his sister.

"So this is Kal-El," Michael mused, "The one you-"

"Yes," Ultimus cut him off.

He smirked, "He does dwarf you…but he's still got a ways to go before he tops me," Michael teased before looking back at Ultimus and the four, Dusk, Silver, Michael, and Ultimus engaged in a soft conversation.

While they did that, Robin looked at the Titans, "Spread out, make sure there aren't any other surprises in store for us." he ordered, and the group split up.

Kara was about to help her brother rest against the wall, when a wall of white fur nearly tackled him, bathing him with his tongue. Krypto almost seemed to be crying as he happily licked his master, and nuzzled against him, his whimpering cries were almost heartbreaking.

Jack held onto the dogs massive neck and managed to get out a weak smile, "Hey boy," he rasped, scratching the dog behind his ears, "I missed you too."

Krypto sat on his haunches and whimpered sadly. The look on his face was pretty simple, 'Why did you leave me?'

"I'm sorry Krypto, I didn't mean to leave you." he whispered, hugging his dog.

A slow clap emanated from the exit, and all heads turned to the exit. Jack felt fear spike through his system, and the desire to run and hide nearly overwhelmed him. Instead, he gripped Krypto tighter, the dog snarling at the offending clapper.

"My my, what an impressive display," Slade praised, looking at Metallo's unmoving body, "You managed to defeat a former criminal with a metal body. Impressive."

The Criminal mastermind stood in front of the entrance with a familiar sword strapped to his side, and a familiar man standing next to him.

"Silas!" Kara hissed, her eyes flashing red, "What are you doing here!?"

The head of MECH smirked, "Young lady, Slade is the man responsible for our funding and intel. Without him, MECH would be nothing more than a lost dream. Breaking him out of prison was simply MECH's way or repaying him."

"That's how he got out!?" Robin growled, he and the Titans surrounding the two men.

"Ah Titans, how wonderful to see you again," Slade sneered, before focusing solely on Jack and Ultimus.

"Jack Jack Jack, you know you shouldn't be out of your cell. Remember what happened last time you left your cell without permission?" Jack whimpered and shrank away, a few tears starting to streak down his face.

Kara clenched her fists and stepped forward, "Out of our way human! You aren't hurting my brother anymore!"

Slade chuckled, "And whose going to stop me? You? The mutt? The Titans? Or the Halflings? You have a laundry list of allies, yet not one of them could beat me Kara. Your guardians learned the hard way that Jack was the only one who could beat me."

Dusk snarled angrily and stepped forward, fire flickering along her hands and wings, "Make sure to add me to that list when you're burning in the Pit Slade!"

Fire shot forth from her fingers in a brilliant blaze of light and smoke, engulfing both men leaving not so much as an outline as the fire seemed to incinerate them. Dusk let her hands drop to the side, heaving heavily, but more than satisfied to have reduced that man to ash.

Or that's how she would have been, until the smoke cleared revealing Slade and Silas standing there unharmed. Slade had a single hand extended, and a tongue of fire flickered against his palm.

He made a tsking noise, "Didn't anyone teach you Greyman? When you play with fire…" the flames in the room turned a sickly purple, and the fire in his hand shifted in color too. Everyone looked up around the room as the walls were engulfed in purple fire, the man himself radiating the stuff. His one eye was bright purple, and spread wide open.

"You get burned!" and like that, violet tendrils of fire shot towards the infiltration group…

**A/N: HA! I bet you all thought they would actually get away this chapter, didn't you? You guys should know by now that we LOVE giving you cliffhangers. But don't worry, almost everything will be resolved next chapter. Almost everything. Anyway, don't forget to review with critique and PM me and Elhini with ideas and questions! Bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Recovery

_Jasper Nevada…_

Arcee thought she was dead, no _knew_she was dead. She'd watched her dragged off kicking and screaming before the screams were silenced. She'd found the remains in a con base, pieces of armor and protoform…

Elita was trying to not glitch and was hanging onto Arcee II for support, not easy since she was taller than her sister. But, the femme before them was the one who killed Tailgate…and she was Arcee's older sister.

"Arcee…" Elita gasped, "She…my…"

Arcee felt stunned as her, if not more so.

"L-Lita?" she breathed softly, "No…no you died!"

Airachnid or Elita II gave a smirk. A smirk that showed that she knew exactly who she was and what she had done to her little sister. It was a smirk that said she not only didn't care, but that she'd enjoyed it.

"What kind of a sick world have we landed in, 'Lita?" Arcee II murmured softly, "Where sisters would try to kill each other and one would murder the other's partner for sport?"

There was no answer.

The spider-femme walked over to her damaged helm and picked it up before putting it back on her head with a firm click. She then grinned wickedly, her denta still sharpened. To see her sisters face on that body… it made Arcee's head spin.

"Well, in a way, I did." the femme chuckled, "You see, after the cons took me and your other sister away, they experimented on us."

The delight in her voice was sickening, "I could talk about how awful it all was, the experimenting, the tearing of my mesh under the laser scalpel, losing myself. But once I embraced the madness, I realized I liked the pain and the changes. I liked to see others in pain too."

Her grin widened and her spidery legs lifted her back into the air, "Oh but yours Arcee, yours were the most exciting, the most enjoyable. Seeing you broken in pain… nothing made me happier!"

"You…you're sick," Elita growled, albeit very shakily.

Her crystal blue optics were wide in shock and horror as she stared at her second counterpart.  
The femme gave that smirk again and both Arcees' shuddered. Elita had never smirked. Not once. Cheeky smile at times yes…but never a smirk. She had said they were rude and unbecoming of a femme. And to see her do it, to throw that rule aside…

Arcee didn't like it.

At all.

Airachnid chuckled at Elita's statement, "Oh I know dear. I've been sick for millennia. But I don't let little things like that stop me from my hobbies."

Her blasters warmed up, "And once you three are restrained, I'll enjoy hearing you scream in anguish as I take both Jacks. After all, two is better than one…"

Elita froze under Arcee II's servo and the outrage waving off her was palpable. Arcee could sympathize with it. She knew how overprotective June could be. But in this case, any fury she unleashed would be more than welcome.

Elita's optics deepened to midnight blue and she gave a loud war cry, leaping forwards, her weapons unsheathing.

"YOU WILL NEVER TOUCH HIM!" Elita shrieked as she tackled her counterpart, "I'LL RIP OUT YOUR SPARK AND FEED IT TO UNICRON BEFORE YOU LAY A DIGIT ON MY SON!"

Airachnid just chuckled and knocked the femme across the ground with a crash, "Oh did I strike a nerve?" she mocked.

Arcee activated her blasters, "That's it!" she hissed, and charged forward, firing like mad.

Airachnid blocked the blasts with her arm, shrinking back from her sister/ nemesis firepower. Arcee shifted to blades and lunged at Airachnid, tackling her end over end, until they both came to a stop, Arcee's blade ready to tear her spark out.

Until they made optic contact. Arcee hesitated as she saw the optics, the optics and faceplate of her sister before her. Not Airachnids.

Airachnid though, had no problem slashing at her former sister's side with a shriek of metal tearing. Arcee froze optics wide and mouth opening shocked pain.

Smirking, Airachnid kicked her away, making Arcee land on her back, hard. Energon gushed from the slash marks and left the femme lying there in a daze.

Airachnid though, stood laughing, "Well, one down." her optics flicked to Elita and Arcee II, "Two to go."

_Under the K.O Burger…_

The tendrils of purple fire would have and nearly did engulf the group of fighters and heroes. Their purple tongues licking hungrily at the air, eager to feed upon them and turn them to ash were blocked by a shield of pitch black energy. Raven stood in the middle of the group, arms outstretched and eyes burning white, grunting as she struggled to hold the flames back.

The fiery tendrils bashed and slammed into the shield walls with thunderous booms and explosions, but failed to pierce them for now. Another round slammed into the shield and Jack cowered against Krypto, whimpering.

"H-he'll b-break through. I-it w-won't stop h-him." he muttered quietly, "N-nothing c-can stop him."

Kara put a hand on her brother's shoulder, making him flinch, "Then we must be nothing. Because Slade will never harm you or Ultimus again brother, I promise."

If Jack paid attention it was hard to tell. He just trembled holding onto Krypto and digging his hands into the dog's fur for comfort. Krypto watched the walls like a sentinel; his master was in danger, he would not let these men harm him. Not again.

The purple fire slammed against the shield again, making it crack, "We don't have much time…" Raven grunted, holding the shield up, "If you have a plan _now_is the time to use it!"

Kara looked at the assembled group. The Titans were still in good shape along with Dusk, but Ultimus was injured, and so were her parents. Add the fact that Krypto and Jack were out of the fight and their odds weren't looking too good.

Not that stopped her before.

"Dusk, put Ultimus with Krypto and Kal." she ordered, pointing at her dog, "We'll need you to help take Slade out."

Dusk nodded and brought Ultimus limping to the shaggy white dog, who growled at him, "Down boy." Kara ordered, and the growl ceased.

Though he was clearly angry about it, Krypto supported Ultimus on the other side of Jack, who had his head buried in Kryptos fur as the fire continued to bang against Raven's shield.

"Okay, Titans," Kara started, taking full charge of the situation, "Attack Slade head on while Silver, Dusk, and Michael, you flank him. I'll take him from behind. Even with these new powers, he can't take us all on at once."

"When the shield breaks, move immediately," Robin added, "Slade won't give us time to get organized."

The others nodded and readied themselves. Cyborg shifted his arms into sonic cannons, Starfire's fist started to glow emerald green, Robin pulled out three of his explosive disks, and the three _Ivorra's_drew their blades, readying them. Kara stood in front of the pack, hands clenched and the ground rumbling around her.

The shield flicked off with no warning, and the group scattered, the flames obliterating the spot where they had once been.

Charging forwards, the Titans unleashed a hail marry of firepower at Slade. Blue sonic blasts, star bolts, black energy, and explosives all surged at the man. It was enough to obliterate most foes.

Slade though?

He just raised both his hands, a cylinder of fire engulfing him and causing their attacks to explode harmlessly against him. Whipping his hands up, he sent the cylinder at the titans, knocking them off their feet. The teens were scattered as Silver, Michael and Dusk engaged him.

Slade rolled backwards, letting the three's swords collide in mid air, sparks showering them from the impact. Twisting around, the three saw Slade standing there, waiting with his hand on the hilt of the sword.

With a flick of his hand, the blade was drawn from its sheathe and purple fire rippled along its edge, "Jack said that you were one of the best fighters he'd faced." he flourished his blade with a single hand, holding it level between the two colored halves of his mask, "I'm far from impressed."

Dusk gave a low growl and settled in a ready position, blades raised, "Then why don't we settle this the old fashioned way?" she hissed, "Shut up and fight,"

Slade said nothing more, and charged forward, his entire body flickering with flame. He and Dusk clashed for a moment before he kicked her legs out and flipped over her. Michael and Silver engaged him, their blades ringing with each blow. Slade effortlessly dodged or parried their blows.

For as old and experienced as the two were, Slades own experience, coupled with his enhanced strength, speed, and new powers more than leveled the playing field. In fact, the longer they fought him, the weaker they felt.

Dusk though, charged back in, swords spitting fire, and slashed at Slades back. The man spun in place, his sword clanging against the others and shoving them away.

Silver and Michael landed in a heap, struggling to get up, "Feeling a little queasy?" Slade asked with mock concern.

Flames rippled along the edge of his form, and he looked at his free hand, flexing and twisting it, "Dark Energon. Its initial effects on the human body are devastating, can even kill in large enough amounts."

He clenched his fist, "But if you have the strength and will to control it, then you can shape it to serve you." his single eye flicked up to the three Halflings that struggled to stand, "And you three clearly lack the will to handle the _power_of Dark Energon." he sneered.

Dusk got to her feet and snarled, "Who's the weak one Slade? Because we aren't the ones using Dark Energon to fight. It's all skill."

Slade chuckled, "Child, adaptation, evolution. All these are methods in which one who fights to _win_uses to ensure his victory."

His right foot slid behind him and he held Ultimus' blade in reverse, fire flickering around him, "I believe Robin once said it best. Winning isn't everything," he tensed, "It's just the only thing that matters!"

With a flash of purple, Slade surged towards them, tendrils of fire spinning around him as the man himself spun through the air like a top. His blade collided with Dusks own blades in a shower of sparks.

His spinning stopped and Slade rose on a pillar of fire above Dusk, his one eye radiating violet light. Falling back down, Slade and Dusk exchanged blows, each time purple and orange fire mixed, the two opposing forces frying the surrounding area.

Dusk flipped back, kicking Slade in the jaw before jumping back forward and slashing at his neck. Her blade stopped an inch from his neck, and Dusks eyes widened.

Slade smirked, "A good attempt," his grip tightened on her swords, "But not good enough."

In one fluid movement, Slade kneed Dusk in the stomach, making her double over gasping for breath, before gripping her long blonde hair and wrenching her head back, his own blade resting against her neck.

"You were a good fighter," Slade hissed, pressing his white hot blade to her throat, "But not good enough."

His grip tightened on the hilt and he prepared to draw the blade across her neck. Dusk struggled weakly against his grip, but Slades strength and flames of Dark Energon were too much for her. And it would have been that she would have died right then and there.

Except for one detail.

Slade had forgotten about Kara.

"Slade!" the girl roared. Slade whirled around, letting Dusk go, right in time for Kara to charge into him, knocking him across the ground.

Stone shattered while he bounced like a pebble across the ground and hit the wall with a bone crushing _crack._Kara quickly came to Dusk's side, helping her up.

"You alright!?" she asked, frantically checking the Halfling for injuries.

Dusk pushed her away, "I'm fine Kara," there was a shift of rubble and the two looked to see Slade shoving the rubble away from himself, glaring at Kara.

"Besides, I think you have bigger problems to worry about." Dusk said, and then looked at her parents, who were still recovering.

"Go to them," Kara ordered, her gaze never leaving Slade, "I can handle one eye by myself."

"You sure?"

Kara's hands tightened, "I've never been more sure in my life." she growled.

Nodding, Dusk limped to her parents and began attending to their injuries. Kara stalked forward towards Slade. While she did, Starfire and Cyborg joined her.

"Robin?" Kara asked, looking at them curiously.

"Second degree burns along his legs." Cyborg explained, "Ravens providing some first aid, but he's not in any condition to fight"

"Neither will you three." Slade growled, stepping down from the mound of rubble. His sword was gone, but the purple fire that rippled around him made the message clear. He was still a threat to fear.

Kara and the two titans raised their fists, "We beat you once before Slade." her eyes narrowed, her feet dug into the ground, "We'll beat you again!"

"RAGH!" Slade rocketed forward on a pillar of fire before flipping forward. Fire shot from his foot and a great geyser of fire forced the three to scatter. The great blazing wall stretched to the other side of the room, illuminating the room in a sick violet color.

Starfire flanked around the wall of flame and shot towards Slade, flinging her star bolts at him. Her eyes glowed a furious emerald green and each star bolt exploded against the ground. Slade covered his face with his eyes and let the bolts impact against him harmlessly.

Raising her hands over head, Starfire let out a voracious scream of rage. The green energy culminated in a large sphere of energy that she proceeded to throw at Slade.

Instead of blocking this one Slade straightened up and spread his arms wide, letting purple tendrils link between his hands like a net, and caught the large star bolt. The energy fought against its new found prison, looking for any form of escape. Slade gave its escape by releasing his arms and letting it sling shot back at Starfire.

"Eep!" the ball of energy slammed into her, knocking her into the ceiling with a shuddering boom. She fell to the floor in a broken pile. Cracks formed on the ceiling, and bits of debris fell to the floor, burying her under the rubble. Streaks of light cut through the darkness, illuminating the parts of the room that wasn't on fire.

"Starfire!" Cyborg glared at Slade while on one knee.

Kara put a hand on his shoulder, "We'll go at him together. I'll take him head on, you flank him."

Cyborg nodded and ran off the side while Kara stood, brushing the dirt off her suit. Slade turned to focus his one eye on her, "So then Kryptonian. Do you have what it takes? Can you live up to the shadow of your brother?"

Scowling, Kara readied her fighting stance, her torn cape billowing behind her, "I don't need to live up to Kal. All I need to do is beat you Slade."

The man chuckled while stepping forward, his arms crossed behind him, "Is that so? Tell me Kara, how will you do that if I've been one step ahead of you this entire time?"

"GRAGH!" Cyborg leapt at the man, arms reared back. Without even looking at him, Slades hand shot out and grabbed the teen by the neck, tossing him across the room like a piece of trash.

The cybernetic teen leveled his fist at Slade while he flew back and fired his upper arm at him. The rocket propelled fist flew towards Slade at a break neck pace. Again, keeping his gaze on Kara, the man grabbed the arm when it was less than a foot away.

Flexing his arm, the robotic limb shattered in his hand, "That's enough of that." Slade said, a fiery cage forming around the disarmed Cyborg.

"Now then," he readied himself, raising his fists. Kara and Slade circled each other, the two glaring at each other, "Let's finish this, shall we?"

Without responding, Kara surged forward, the very ground shattering from the slipstream of her speed. Time slowed as the two both reared their fists back, glaring at each other. Then it sped back up, and there was a colossal explosion. Both fighters were knocked back, the shockwave leaving them in a large crater.

Kara hit the ground in a heap, struggling to stand. Slade landed on his feet, skidding back a few feet, his hand leaving deep furrows in the ground. Once he skid to a stop, Slade stood, cracking his neck while Kara struggled to stand.

"Look at you." he mocked, "One punch and already you can't stand." he walked over to her raising both hands overhead, before slamming them into her back. She cried out and hit the ground with a boom.

Slade gripped her red cape, looking at the family symbol embroidered into it, "This symbol stands for hope. But not hope for you Kara Jor-El Darby, or the Kryptonians. Hope for humanity. Your kind represents the next step in our evolution." There was a tearing sound as Slade tore off her cape and a chunk off the back of her suit.

He tossed it to the side and lifted her by her hair, "Children like you don't deserve the power of gods, to live above humans. I intend to make sure of it."

Twisting on his heel, the man flung Kara out of the crater. She slammed into the wall next to Jack and Ultimus. The teen looked at his sister wide eyed.

"Kara…" he whimpered.

Slade leapt out of the crater and began stalking towards Kara, who could barely stand, "And no matter how much you fight, no matter how much you wish for it to be nothing but a dream, there is anything. You can do. To stop it."

Jack watched in horror as his sister was lifted up by her throat, Slade's free hand engulfed in fire. Krypto snarled and charged at the man, only for Slade to backhand the massive dog with ease. Jack cowered next to the wall. He'd known this would happen, he'd warned them this would happen.

Slade couldn't be beaten, he knew that. The man he was too powerful, too…

Jack paused as something odd happened. Memories, not his own, began to enter his mind, dominating what he saw and heard. He saw a destroyed Jasper, heard the sounds of combat, then he saw the blue and white form of… Arcee…

_Arcee clutched at her side and slowly eased herself up, the sounds of combat entering her audios. Blinking a few times, her optics slowly rotated back into place, and she looked over at the ruckus. She saw her counterpart and Elita engaging Airachnid... her sister, twisted by the cons._

Growling, the femme got to her pedes, and stood, clutching at her injured side. The cut was deep, very deep. Energon gushed from the wound and Arcee felt herself slowly entering stasis. But not now, not yet. She had something she needed to do.

Stumbling towards the combat, arm blade drawn, Arcee watched the two femmes circle Airachnid, firing at her before switching to blades. Airachnid used her extra legs to lash out at them, only for the two femmes to cut the limbs off, making Airachnid hiss in pain.

Jumping back, the femme opened fire on the two, forcing them back as she fired. Ducking behind cover, they fired back at Airachnid. Most of the shots went wide, but a few nicked the femmes armor. One hit her in side, and she doubled over, clutching at it.

Realizing she was outnumbered and outgunned, Airachnid turned to leave, only to run into Arcee, arm blade extended. Her body was battered and bleeding, but she would do what needed to be done.

Airachnid frowned, "Arcee, you wouldn't try to kill your own sister would you?"

Arcee blinked a few times, struggling to stay online, "You...are not my... sister." she growled out, "My sister... died protecting me... You are a monster..."

The femme snarled, "What of it? I'm no worse than you. What were the words you said to Jack? I wish you'd died on Krypton?"

"I said a few things, horrible things I wish I never had." Arcee admitted, sadness overcoming her faceplate for a moment, before hardening, "But that doesn't change the fact that I love Jack, and I will never let you touch him again, you pit spawned monster!"

Airachnid lunged forward, hissing, and the two femmes fell to the ground. Airachnid brought her clawed servo up to kill her, "I will enjoy killing you, sister," she sneered.

There was a crunch of metal, and Airachnids optics went wide, "You're...not...my...sister." Arcee growled, her arm blade buried in her spark chamber.

Jack shook himself in shock as the odd vision came to an end, feeling something entering his system. A warmth, a strength he hadn't felt in a long time. Arcee, she still loved him, after everything that happened, after what they both said… she still cared!

Slowly, something fluttered into Jacks field of view, and he realized it was Kara's cape. He took it in his hand looked at the symbol etched into it. The large stylized S, his families crest. The symbol for hope. Its golden thread glinting in the warm sunlight…

Sunlight?

Jack looked up at the ceiling, and saw the sun itself shining through, over his broken body. His eyes watered at the sight of the large golden orb, "So beautiful…" he muttered. The injuries, the pain along his body slowly faded away, and strength, great strength flowed back into his system. His hands clenched tightly, and the last Son of Krypton stood.

Kara screamed as Slade tightened his grip on her hair, and brought his flaming fist back, "Such a waste, but your brother will be just as useful as you were my dear."

His fist shot forward, and Kara shut her eyes, expecting the inevitable.

It never came.

Slowly, Kara opened one of her eyes, and nearly felt her jaw drop in shock. Slades one eye was wide in shock too. His fist was held back by Jack, who had a look, not of fury, not of rage, not of fear, or vengeance. A look of strength and power was scrawled across his face.

"Let. My sister. Go." he ordered, his eyes seeming to bore into Slades very being.

Slade snarled and flung Kara away, his right hand igniting in fire and shooting towards Jack, "Little brat!" he roared.

Jack gripped that fist too, holding it tightly in place, his grip growing ever stronger. Slade's hands shook and the flames around him vanished in a puff of smoke, his hands trembling. Jack pushed him back bit by bit, the man's feet digging into the ground. The others, those too injured too fight, slowly stood as Jack brought Slade to his knees.

His armor began to crack, his bones and flesh emanating pained snaps, "You're nothing but a monster Slade, a man who seeks to cause pain, to use and abuse power." Jack said, his voice never wavering. The cuts and bruises on his face sealed shut and faded, and the color slowly returned to his skin.

"A broken shell of a man, who wants to use a power he couldn't comprehend!" Jack twisted on his feet and flung Slade across the room. The wall exploded from the impact, rubble collapsing around him.

With a roar, the rubble exploded around Slade, who was engulfed in fire, "What would you know of power child!? I broke you, I destroyed you!"

The rubble around Jack began to shift, dirt spinning around him as he lifted off the ground, his eyes narrowed, "I was never broken Slade. I was lost, hurt. But never broken."

Coils of fire writhed up and around Slade, like long vicious snakes, "Then allow me to rectify that mistake!" he roared.

The coils of fire lanced towards Jack, like a pack of wolves eager for their next kill. Jack didn't move, instead taking in a deep breath, and proceeding to blow out hurricane force winds. The fire made it a few more feet, before suddenly enveloping itself, and seeming to bloat in size, before dissipating into smoked.

He stopped his super-breath for a moment, and was faintly aware of what sounded like someone calling him before he realized they were referring to Ultimus. That was fine by him, he and Slade had unfinished business to attend to.

The Kryptonian walked forward through the burnt rubble of the room, his gaze never once leaving Slades prone form as the criminal stumbled to his feet. Once he steadied himself, he glared at Jack with his one eye.

"You brat! You need to remember your place!" fire laced up his spine and curled around his arms, spraying from his wrists like flamethrowers, bathing the area in front of him.

In a matter of seconds though, his flames died out, much to his shock, "Even if it is powered by Dark Energon Slade," Jack stalked forward, hands clenched, "fire needs air," he took in a deep breath, and it was like being caught up in a hurricane once more.

"I don't need that to defeat you." the man growled, unsheathing the metal staff he'd used to knock Ultimus out.

Rushing forward, he jumped in the air, and twisted. His staff was caught mid swing by Jack, who held it without even visually moving. His eyes were still narrowed, and starting to glow a faint red.

"You tortured me Slade," he delivered an uppercut to the man and sent him sprawling, "You experimented on me, ripped me open, and let Airachnid try to violate me!" he slammed his foot into the ground and the entire base shook, the ground cracking.

"I almost feared you." Jack growled, and shot forward.

Slade stumbled back in shock, before Jack grabbed him by the collar and punched him back across the room. There was an ear splitting crack that filled the air. Slade skid across the ground in one direction, while part of his mask went flying in the other direction.

Jack stood in front of the man as he stood, the black half of his mask gone, his face shrouded in shadow. Growling, Slade punched at Jack, not even trying with his fire anymore. The teen didn't even move or dodge the blow. Instead, he let Slade land his blow.

Another bone splitting crack filled the air as the bones in his hand shattered against Jacks face. Slade stumbled back howling in pain, before Jack grabbed him by the hand, "You want to feel pain?" he demanded calmly.

The bones in his forearm cracked and broke under his grip. Jack slowly forced Slade to his knees, his arm being reduced to mulch. He tried again with his other hand to punch at Jack. The teen vanished from view, twisting his broken arm behind Slade with a crack, and slamming him into the ground.

Slade coughed out blood as the bones in his rib cage cracked, but didn't break. Jack kept his foot planted firmly on his back and kneeled down next to Slade, "I seem to recall that if you _ever_hurt my friends or family, that I would kill you Slade. Remember that?"

The man was silent, and Jack scowled, "I'll take that as a yes." he stood up and kicked the man onto his back, and tore off the rest of his mask, revealing his face. It wasn't quite what anyone was expecting.

For one, Slade was old. Easily in his fifties of sixties. His hair was swept back and completely grey, lines of age lining his face. His right eye was covered in an eye patch, and he had a white well trimmed goatee wrapped around his lips. All in all, he looked like your standard old war veteran.

Jack gripped him by the neck and raised his fist. Slade glared back at him defiantly, "So…" he coughed, "This is the part where you kill me now right?"

There was a slight hesitation as the words sank in. Kill him. Take Slades life, end it for all eternity. He would never live, never walk, never think again. Was it really his job to take something from Slade? The bastard deserved it for sure, but… Jack was no executioner. He upheld the law, protected the innocent from those who would abuse their powers. But… if he used his own powers to kill Slade, did that make him any better than him? Jack remembered what he'd sworn after killing Zod and killing those MECH agents. He would never take a life again, that taking a life made him no better than them.

Closing his eyes, Jack let Slade fall on his back, and stood, walking away. The man propped himself up on his elbows, "So is that it then!? You just leave me here, dying!?"

Jack looked back at him over his shoulder, "You're not dying. Not yet." he growled, "But I want to make something clear." he turned back around to face Slade.

"I beat you, I could have killed you, ended your life for the rest of time. But I didn't" he stepped forward, glaring at the criminal, "Because I am nothing like you, or the people that work for you. All life, no matter how sick, no matter how twisted, has a right to live. Unless the law says otherwise, I will never execute another human being. No matter what they have done."

With that done, Jack turned back around and made his way back to the group as Slade managed to get to his feet, "I'm not done with you… Jack." he growled, holding his side. A few bits of blood dripped down his face, and his remaining eye glared at him angrily.

Jack didn't even turn to face him, "But I'm done with you Slade."

"Good." Silas said, and pulled the trigger. A gunshot sounded through the room and everyone whirled to see Silas standing over Slades dead body. A smoking pistol was held in his hand, and a pool of blood dribbled out of the hole that was dead center in Slades body.

Silas had just killed Slade.

"Now that's one problem out of the way," the scarred man said, and pointed the gun at Jack, "That leaves two left."

_Bang!_

Jack froze his eyes going wide as he felt a numb feeling pass over his chest. He suddenly felt very weak, and very tired. Looking down, he saw something glowing a sickly green embedded in his chest, a few drops of blood dripping from the wound. He touched at it with a single finger, before his legs gave out and he hit his head on the floor.

"KAL!" Everyone was over to Jack in a second trying to see what Silas had done. Robin flung a boomerang at the man, knocking his gun out of his hand. Realizing he was out gunned, Silas ran for the exit.

Everyone ignored him as they fussed over Jack, who was finding it increasingly hard to keep his eyes open. He thought he heard them talking to him, but he couldn't be sure. Everything was so fuzzy. Sleep sounded so… so good an option…

"No, no, no, no!" Kara said, desperately trying to stop the blood, "We need to get that shard out _now_!" she screeched.

Dusk nodded and started to work on that. While that was going on though, Raven started trembling, her head bowed. The others not helping looked at her.

"Raven? Shouldn't you be helping?" Michael asked.

"T-that…that…"

"Raven?"

**_"MONSTER!"_**__the hooded girls head shot up and everyone backed away. Her normally purple blue eyes were gone, replaced with two sets of sharp angular blood red eyes that glowed menacingly. Her lips were parted in a snarl, revealing sharp serrated teeth, like a shark's.

Black energy exploded out from her, knocking the others away. Silas was smart and booked it for the exit. It was in vain though, as the girl melted into the floor, a deep black stain that zoomed in front of him across the floor.

She shot up in front of him, making him skid to a stop. She stretched incredibly high into the air, her cloak staying firmly attached to the ground. The front billowed, black mist leaking out. The entire room started to get taller as Rave stretched over Silas. Tentacles whipped out from under her cloak, cutting off his routes of escape.

"W-what the!?" he whirled around in terror at the darkness closing in around him.

**_"WHAT'S THE MATTER SILAS!?"_**__She demanded. Her voice sounded like two people were speaking at once, **_"AFRAID OF THE DARK!?"_**

One of the tendrils wrapped around the man's foot, and pulled his legs out from under him. He hit the floor with a thud, and Rave started dragging him towards her. The man screamed in terror while Raven smiled and laughed sadistically.

Silas dug his hands into the ground, bringing up chunks of dirt in his hand as he was dragged into the never ending void at the front of Raven's cloak. His screams grew louder once he was dragged in, and Rave let out a pleased hiss.

"RAVEN!" Robin and the Titans started towards her, having only seen this once before. And they needed to get her out of it, soon.

"Raven stop!" Robin repeated.

As if a switch was thrown, Ravens eyes returned to normal, or rather shocked, and she shrank down to her original size, backing off of Silas. Not that he would have gone anywhere. He lay curled on the floor, trembling, his entire body seemed to have been bleached almost white, and he kept whimpering.

"S-so d-dark… N-nothing b-bu-but dark…"

No one spoke after that for a few moments.

"If you guys are done spazzing the terrorist out," Dusk snapped, "We've got two unconscious counterparts here and I think it would be helpful if we could get someone to lift them!"

"You got the shard out?" Cyborg asked, looking at Jacks unconscious form.

"No I didn't get the fragging shard out," she hissed, "I don't have the right tools for it. We need to get them both to the med bay before they offline. Him from Kryptonite exposure and him from Energon depletion."

Her father looked at her in silent shock. Dusk though, paid it no mind, instead looking at the others gathered around her.

"GET YOUR SORRY AFTS IN GEAR BEFORE I WHIP THEM INTO IT!" Dusk ordered.

"She's been taking lessons from Shadowsteel and Ironhide," Michael growled.

Cyborg picked up Jack and no one initially moved to pick up Ultimus. Dusk's steely gaze landed on her father. He sighed and picked up Ultimus, growling in pain as a few sparks shot off the two but he ignored them.

"OUT!" Dusk shouted, plunging her hand into the rubble and picking out Ultimus' sword from where Slade had dropped it, "NOW!"

The group left enemy base and didn't get far before they came across both Arcee's and Elita. Arcee looked offline for the moment, and was being supported by her counterpart. They froze as they saw their group.

Well, saw the two Jacks anyway. 

"Jack?" Elita asked, "Oh Primus, JACK!" 

Her form flickered and she ran towards us as June Darby. She looked at the unconscious Prime in Michael's arms. 

"What happened!?" she demanded. 

"Critical Energon loss," Michael explained, "he's in emergency stasis at the moment. We need to get him to Hatchet…now," 

"And Kal?" Arcee II asked, looking at the also unconscious Kryptonian. 

"Kryptonite bullet to the chest. He'll die if we don't get something done. Also now," Dusk said. 

"I've already commed Ratchet…mainly because she needs medical attention," Arcee II said, jerking her helm at her counterpart. 

"When?" Elita demanded. 

"Any second now," she answered, "The others are at Base, either being tended to or resting," 

As if on cue, the green and blue vortex spun into being. 

"Get the critically wounded through," Dusk ordered as Michael, Cyborg and Arcee went through, each carrying their wounded warrior, "Let's go, I've had enough of being here,"

As soon as they brought Jack and Kal into the med bay and June started flipping out immediately. Those who'd remained at base looked sick at the sight of the green Kryptonite bullet in Jacks chest. 

Dr. Williams had to literally shove June out of the way because she was hovering, before enlisting her help. Elita wouldn't leave Ultimus' side until Williams called her over to help Jack.

Jolt and Ratchet were having a heck of a time with Ultimus…seeing as his Legacy refused to trigger and send him back to mech form. They had to break out the Mass Shifter to get to him. They quickly set up an IV and dug the needle into his arm, giving him his much needed Energon. Ultimus came awake once…calling for his parents in Cybertronian but Ratchet had to put him back under as Elita started over again, making Williams yell as Elita was holding the clamp that was keeping Jack's lifeblood from coming all over the floor.

A half hour later, Williams gave a triumphant yell as she pulled out a shard of Kryptonite. She gave the shard to June and started poking around in Jack's chest, looking for splinters. Finding none, Williams told June to get rid of it and started to sew up the wound.

While this was going on, Arcee had all three medics working on her, while Optimus II stood next to Ultimus' berth in human form. Elita washed up quickly and joined him at his side as they watched their son sleep. Soon, 'Bee II and Dusk joined them.

Several hours passed as the bots slowly began to return to their duty. Once Arcee was patched up, she used the mass shifter and came up to Jacks side. Krypto looked at her, but did nothing. After all, he knew what Arcee was or had been to Jack.

The femme sat next to his unconscious form, taking a hand in her servos. Though his skin had regained some of its color, he was still pale and looked… well sick. Something that was rarely ever associated with the boy. It made Arcee feel horrible. She was at least partly responsible for this. That stupid fight, it made him angry and he'd left. If they'd never fought, maybe he would still be okay.

Arcee stroked the top of his hand with a thumb, "I don't know if you can hear me at the moment Jack, but… I'm sorry for what I said. I never meant it, I was just… emotional. I never want to lose you, and if that means I can't go back to Cybertron… I can live that. As long as I'm with you."

She felt something stir in the bond, and Jacks eyes fluttered open. The two made eye contact for a few moments before Jack spoke. His voice was weak and husky, but still held a bit of life in it, "I'm… sorry…too." He murmured, "I never… wanted you to… die. I don't want to lose you… ever again… I'm sorry."

Arcee smiled, letting the small walls she'd held over her bond fall away. Her happiness flowed over the bond, making Jack gasp, "What…?"

"There's a lot you need to be caught up on Jack. But I'm just happy to have you back." The two kissed.

**A/N: So we finally got a chapter out! Sorry it took so long, I just needed a break before I burned myself out. But hey, what'd you guys think? Lot of twists and turns in this chapter, no? Let me know what you think in the reviews, and remember to PM Elhini and I with questions and ideas. Bye!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Salvage

_Autobot HQ…_

"You are to stay off your leg as much as you can," Ratchet II ordered Ultimus the following day, "But since you are a youngling…keeping you still will be next to impossible. So I believe you will need these,"

He presented a pair of crutches to Ultimus, who glared at them darkly. It was clearly obvious he did _not _like the metal devices, or the purpose they would serve. But Ratchet II would have none of that.

"If you need to move around, you will use these," Ratchet II repeated, "Do you understand?"

"What if they 'accidentally' break?" Ultimus asked slyly.

"Don't waste your breath, Jack," the medic growled, "I made these especially for you. I doubt even Kal-El would be able to break them,"

Ultimus growled something under his breath. For a brief moment the edges of his body blur for a second before he slid onto the crutches… And they were about five inches to big. Ultimus put on a frown.

"I can't touch the ground," he reported, "Guess you'll have to fix them…"

Ratchet II glared at him, "Young Prime, return back to your base form. Now." he ordered.

Ultimus gave an exasperated sigh and his form flickered, gaining maybe five inches. The others of his group gave him disapproving looks, which he ignored.

"Now, test them out," Ratchet ordered.

Grumbling darkly, the Prime slid back onto the crutches and began practicing moving around the general area, getting the hang of them. He started to get the hang of them until…

"GOD BLESS US! EVERY ONE!" One of the Miko's yelled, both counterparts laughing as they entered the med bay.

Ultimus eyes flared deep electric blue in anger and embarrassment, "Ha ha." he muttered, "Make fun of the kid on crutches."

Both Miko's and Amber apparently took this as their cue to do just that, "Oh cheer up tiny Tim," Amber said in a fake cockney accent, "I'm sure ya'll have a right proper Christmas this year ya will."

All three girls collapsed into giggles, "We'll he make it ta next christmas doc?" Miko II laughed in her own awful cockney accent.

"Not sure, dhis might be is last un." Miko responded before collapsing into full blown laughter.

Ultimus let out a low growl, his face turning a deep shade of indigo.

"That's it," he hissed, starting forwards on his crutches.

"Oh! Run girls! He's comin'!" Amber screamed in mock horror.

All three girls turned around and started going away in slow motion while Ultimus hobbled after them. He nearly had Miko before the three of them snapped back to normal speed…and Ultimus tripped over his crutches, sending him sprawling on the floor with a loud thud.

"Ow!" he yelled, struggling to stand up again.

Luckily for the disabled Prime, Dusk was over by his side fairly quickly, helping him back to his feet, "Thanks." he muttered sheepishly.

"Just watch we're you step, okay?" she reminded him, before glaring at the three trouble makers, "You know guys, you might have taken it a tad too far." she growled.

"We were just having a little fun, no harm done." Amber muttered.

Before an argument could ensue though, June entered the area. From the look on her face, it suggested she was worried, "Something the matter June?"

"Yeah…" she nodded, "anyone seen Jack or Arcee? I've been looking all over base for the two and I can't find them anywhere."

"I'm sure they're fine," Dusk reassured her, "But you're right. We should find them, just so we don't have a repeat of what happened last time,"

"And Kal is still injured," Ben added, "Well…he's healed up, but Mom told him not to do anything too strenuous until she okayed it,"

"And we all know how scary Dr. Williams is when a patient is involved," Ultimus growled under his breath.

June ignored that and looked at Dusk "Do you think you could find him?" she asked, "You know him well."

Dusk smiled "I'll do my best," she said.

June nodded her thanks and Dusk started towards the doors. She didn't get far though before she was hit with a sudden realization. She had no idea where to look!

"Scrap, where do I look?" she muttered.

"I might have an idea of where he might be," Dusk looked up to see Kara descending towards the ground.

She landed in front of her friend and gave a soft smile, "And that might be?" Dusk asked.

"He's got a special spot up north where he likes to go to be alone," Kara shrugged, "Arcee might be with him,"

Dusk crossed her arms and tapped her chin "Can you show me where it is?"

"Show us, you mean," Ultimus corrected, hobbling up to the two, "I'm coming with you,"

His sister frowned "You are staying here," she ordered., "Hatchet and Jolt would have my head,"

"Please?" Ultimus begged, "If I hear another Tiny Tim joke I'm going to scream!"

Dusk closed an eye,"I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this…" the Prime sighed sighed.

And he promptly threw a pair of sparkling eyes at his older sister. She hesitated for a moment before scowling, "Using my own weapon against me Jack? That's cold," she growled.

"Is it working?" he asked innocently.

Dusk sighed, and pinched her nose "Fine," she huffed, "you can come,"

His eyes lit up happily and he threw an arm around her shoulder for a hug, "Oh thank you! You have no idea how bad those three are."

"I have a pretty good idea." Dusk muttered, before looking to Kara, "So, where too?"

Kara pointed to the bridge, "Wait there while I type in the coordinates," she ordered before flying up to the terminal.

Dusk helped her brother over to the entrance of the ground bridge, and managed to hobble over there right as Kara typed in the last coordinate. The bridge swirled to life and Kara flew back over to join them.

"Come on," she waved them on, "You guys are in for a shock,"

Exchanging looks, the two siblings shrugged and followed her through the ground bridge, emerging in an odd location. It was a snow covered mountainous area that looked as if a bomb had gone off around it. Parts of the landscape looked broken apart, except for the mountain directly in front of them, which seemed unharmed.

"What happened here?" Ultimus asked, his breath freezing over, "Looks like a bomb went off."

"Kal trained Miko how to keep her powers under control here." Kara said dismissively, while examining a large snow drift.

"Oh." Ultimus nodded, before Kara's words registered, "Wait, Miko did this!?"

Kara shrugged and brushed some snow off a large boulder, "Yeah, girls powers can be deadly if she uses them right. Problem is, it takes a lot out of her."

She ignored the looks Dusk and Ultimus exchanged again, before letting out a triumphant, "Ha!" and slid open a rocky panel to reveal a handle embedded in the rock.

"What is that?" Dusk asked, looking at the handle.

"Our key into the mountain," Kara replied and gripped the handle. With a heave, she pulled it out, before twisting the handle and pushing it back in.

Ultimus frowned as at first nothing happened, "What did you just-" suddenly, the rock began to shudder and shake as a large crack split it down the middle. The two halves sank in a good foot, before opening up into a large squared hallway.

"Ta-da!" Kara said, stepping to the side and grinning.

Dusk and Ultimus for their part looked floored, "Kal built this?" Dusk squeaked.

Kara chuckled, "We both did, it _was _going to be the secondary base, but we decided the one everyone's at now was a better location. We keep our allies close and could expand much farther than the mesa. And here, well it's complicated." she turned into the door, "Now come on, you guys will love this."

Shrugging, the two followed in after Kara, going through the long hall and looking around at the evenly cut walls. It looked like someone had spent a lot of time building the hallway, and getting everything set up just right. Heck, it looked professionally done.

Kara came to a stop at two large metal doors, with a small pad in front of them. Without a word, she placed her hand on the pad. A green light scanned her hand, before there was an affirmative 'beep' and the metal doors slid open silently.

And as the three entered the location, they looked around stunned.

Kara stood to the side and held an arm out motioning for them to walk forward. Cautiously, the two stepped into the _massive _underground cavern, dwarfing both of the Autobot bases in size. Naturally glowing rock illuminated the area from the ceiling and floor. Several stone bridges and platforms were scattered about, some crossing from one side of the cavern to another.

At the far end of the cavern an underground waterfall poured from several crevices into a small pool. It glimmered and shined in the light of the cave, casting beautiful lights across the large room. Several shined off Dusks glyphs and both her and Ultimus' eyes.

Both of them began to look around in wonder. From the stalagmites and stalactites that hung and rose from the ceiling, to the massive glittering pillars of stone that supported the cave, it was incredibly beautiful. They could have spent all day in here just marveling at the mini paradise.

"Wow… just… wow," Dusk said, marveling in wonder.

"Kal and I found this place, it's a natural cavern." Kara explained, chuckling at their expressions, "And it's all powered by thermal heat too. Just not enough to support a ground bridge."

"And Kal keeps this all to himself?" Ultimus asked. It was kinda rude he didn't share such a beautiful place.

"Well, he's still adding to it," Kara shrugged, "And well, it's mostly a private area for him and Arcee to get away from us."

"…Oh." the siblings said in sync. Given the number of times the two had been walked in on during their stay in Dusks dimension, a little privacy made sense.

Dusk looked around though, a brow quirked, "Question though, where are they?"

Kara looked around for a moment, "I… don't know, they might be by the pool," she said, and started towards the glimmering body of water.

As the three neared it they heard voices and far too late did Kara realize she should tell the others to stop. Instead, they came to a stop at the edge of the pool, and their jaws dropped.

Armor littered the edge of the pool, along with soft cloth clothing and two towels. But that wasn't what got their attention. What got their attention were the two people in the pool.

Jack and Arcee were in a loving embraced, locked in a deep kiss. And neither one wore a scrap of armor. Jack opened his eyes for a brief moment as he kissed and saw the three at the edge of the pool. He froze like a deer in the headlights, eyes wide while his face turned bright red.

"Jack, something wrong?" Arcee asked, confused on why he'd stopped. She turned around and her optics went wide.

"Well…" Dusk started, clearing her throat as she averted my gaze.

Her cheeks flared bright red, "Um…looks like we found you guys,"

Neither of the two lovers moved or said anything. Aloud anyway. They were speaking rather quite frantically over their bond. Jacks initial reaction to the bond was… well shocked to say the least. He hadn't known such a thing existed, and we he found out what it essentially signified… he nearly fainted.

That said though, the two had quickly adapted to the bond, and we're speaking over it at the moment, _'I thought no one else knew about this place!' _Arcee hissed.

_'Only you, me, Kara, and Miko!' _Jack reminded her.

_'Well apparently they know now too!' _Arcee growled. The embarrassment they both felt was overwhelming. What Ultimus said next didn't help.

"Think I know how the bond came to be," he muttered softly.

Dusk elbowed him in the ribs, making him yelp and stumble backwards. His crutches got tangled with his legs again and down he went in a tangle of limbs and metal!

"Ya know…for a Prime…your coordination is horrible," Dusk told him as she hoisted him up.

"I don't want to hear it," he growled, "I'm half blind, remember?"

She cuffed the back of his head before turning back to Jack and Arcee…who had still not moved.

"What are you guys doing here," Jack finally demanded, having found his voice.

"June asked us to find you and Arcee," Dusk explained, looking away from them, "We found you,"

"She worries," Ultimus added.

Jack glared at his counterpart, his eyes flaring red for a moment, before Arcee calmed him under the bond, "Well, you found us," she said, sinking until her entire protoform minus her head was underwater, "Now can you go… wait somewhere else, so we can get dressed?"

"Gladly!" Ultimus said, and quickly hobbled away, Dusk on her tail.

Kara looked at the two, shocked, "I… I didn't… oh Great Rao I'm sorry!" she said and promptly left, leaving them in peace.

Jack let out a frustrated sigh once they were gone, "Barely a day back at base and they already walked in on us." he muttered angrily, "Unbelievable."

Arcee patted his shoulder, "We'll just have to find a better place for privacy,"

"Right," he sighed, "A better place,"

"Now come on," Arcee began swimming to the edge of the pool, "If June's worried about her, I don't want to face her wrath."

Rolling his eyes, Jack swam after her, "I told you, I'm feeling fine now," he protested.

Arcee ignored his protest and pulled herself out of the water, drenching the side of the pool and wrapping a towel around her body. Turning around, she offered him a hand to help him out.

"I'm fine," he pushed her hand away and started to heave himself out.

A spike of pain lanced through his right side and he collapsed on the side of pain, gasping. It felt like a rod of fire had been jammed into his chest, even though it was healed. It made it hard to breath, and he could barely move his right arm. He started sliding back into the pool due to the pain.

Luckily, Arcee was at his side in a moment, kneeling next to him and keeping him from sliding in.

Blinking tears out of his eyes, Jack waved her away, and pulled himself out of the water while grabbing the other towel, "I'm fine," he breathed, still trying to catch his breath.

Arcee frowned, "Jack, that's not fine." on occasion, if he stressed himself in the area the bullet had hit, the pain would flare up. According to June, Williams, and Kara, this was leftover radiation from the Kryptonite. Given time, he would heal from it and be back at full strength. Until then, he couldn't strain himself. Much to his displeasure.

"Arcee, I can handle myself," he countered, wrapping the towel around his waist.

"Not if you're arm flairs up like that just getting out of a pool," she replied, keeping her optics narrowed.

Jack closed his eyes and sighed, "It's nothing. Just a little flair up. I can still handle myself."

He groaned as he reached for his clothes, his arm protesting the movement. Arcee handed them to him, making the teen frown. This in turn made Arcee frowned. Jack was never this stubborn if injured, as far as she knew. Something was up.

"Jack, what's really bothering you? It's not just the injury." to emphasize her point she ran a servo over the scar on the right side of his chest. All that remained was a white streak of hard flesh, the only remnant of his _other _near death experience. Arcee still had the occasional nightmare about the shadow zone.

Jack took her servo in her hand and sighed, "You weren't there, so you don't know. But when the others first rescued me… I was pitiful. Slade had almost broken me, made me barely more than a shell of who I was, scared of my own shadow." the hate and shame dripped off his words and was easily felt by Arcee over their bond.

"And the thing is, I wasn't in _that _bad of shape. A few cuts and bruises, but that's it." he scowled, "But I was a coward, and because of that Ultimus almost lost his legs, Cyborg lost his arm, and Kara nearly died." that Arcee did know from the field reports.

Jack looked at her optics, "It wasn't until I got a sense of what happened on your end that I finally snapped out of it. And even now," he motioned to the scar, "I'm still just a burden."

Before Arcee could respond he let out an angry growl, "Even to you I'm a burden! You had to deal with all that crap with Airachnid, and here I am whining to you! God!" he buried his heads in his hands and sat down, "What kind of hero am I when I can't even deal with my own issues."

Jack sat there for several moments, head buried in his hands while Arcee knelt next to him. He figured he'd made her upset, as he couldn't feel her emotions over their bond. Given what a pathetic wreck he was, he didn't doubt it.

Of course, these thoughts began to vanish as he felt two smooth limbs wrap around his neck and felt a comforting presence enter the bond. He looked up to see Arcee's faceplate a few inches from her own.

"Jack, as mature as you are, as smart as you are, and as heroic as you are, you need to remember that you're still a kid. I've had this grudge with Airachnid for thousands of years. Even if she used to be Elita, she was too twisted to resemble my sister ever again. My conflict is over."

She pressed her forehead against his, "I'm more than happy to remind you that you are _not _a burden to us. You and Kara both have done so much for the Autobot cause. But if you still don't believe me, then think about it like this. If you keep straining yourself, you'll only make your injury worse. Then you really won't be able to help."

Jack mulled that over for a minute before smiling weakly, "Thanks Arcee," he murmured. He wasn't entirely sure he believed her, but at the moment he did feel better from her words. And that's all that was needed.

Arcee pecked him on the lips, "Anytime, Superboy."

She stood back up and helped her boyfriend off the ground, "Now you should probably get changed, I don't think you need to stay in that towel," she said, motioning to the white furry cloth.

Jack shrugged, "I will, but I need to grab something first," he said, and vanished before Arcee could ask what he meant.

"That boy," she muttered, smiling, "Always in a rush."

Turning to her own scattered armor, she began the elaborate process of reattaching the many plates onto her bare protoform. It took several minutes, but once the process was finished, she sighed and rolled her shoulders while keeping her helm under her arm.

Jack still hadn't returned, so for the moment she decided to check up on Kara and the others. Last she saw, they'd moved upstairs. So heading in that direction, helm under hand, Arcee quickly approached the stairs, only to stop in surprise.

The three had made it about halfway up before coming to a stop and resting in the middle of the stairway, "Comfortable?" she asked, making Dusk and Ultimus jump. Kara just giggled at their reactions, her super hearing having given her fair warning of Arcee's approach.

"Jeez Arcee, don't do that," Dusk ordered, steadying herself.

The femme smirked and fit her helm back into place, sealing it shut with a hiss, "Consider that a little payback for walking in on us."

"Hey, that was an accident!" Ultimus protested, "How were we supposed to know you two were… well…"

The glare Arcee was giving him made him fall silent. Arcee's wrath, regardless of universe, was something to be feared.

"Once you have a femme in your life Ultimus, you'll understand." Arcee crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, "Kara too."

"Me!?" the girl gasped, "Why me? I'm fine by myself." she protested.

"Right, and you and Malthanis just make goo-goo eyes at each other for the fun of it." Dusk muttered.

Kara's face turned bright red at the accusation, "We do not make 'goo-goo' eyes at each other! He doesn't even have a face!"

"Doesn't mean you don't like him," Dusk teased, grinning wickedly.

"I do not!" she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Kara, even Ultimus sees it, and he's blind with these sorta things," Dusk said, jerking a thumb at her brother.

Ultimus nodded before the words clicked, "Hey!"

"Well it's the truth!" Dusk shot back with a laugh.

Arcee watched with amusement as the siblings began arguing. It didn't get far before there was a cough, and all eyes turned to look behind Arcee.

Jack stood there arms crossed and dressed in a familiar uniform, that seemed… different somehow. For one, the spandex was thicker than before, and segmented like panels of armor around his ribs, stomach, legs, and arms. The cape that hung from his back dropped to his ankles, and seemed a deeper more lively red. The collar of the suit stretched under his chin, and like most of the body suit was a deep blue, slightly darker than the previous variant.

The stylized S had seen a few minor changes, with the spaces between the S being filled with golden cloth, similar to Kara's. Two red boots were seamlessly merged into his suit, and a golden belt was wrapped around his waist. Like before, he wore two red gauntlets with silver on both ends. But, his hands were wrapped in red gloves too. Only his head remained exposed in the suit, and he wore a smile on his face at his friends antics.

"I'm not sure which one I like better, the new suit or the old one," Dusk commented, looking him over before smiling "Nice to see you smiling again,"

Jack gave a shrug. The suit had been redesigned by Kara to seem a little more… human. The padding served little purpose except to make it seem as if it did. And to get rid of the 'spandex' as everyone kept calling it.

"So, now that we've found you two…" she continued," think we should get heading back to base?" Dusk looked at everyone, "I don't know about you all…but June is scary when she's worried. Both of them are,"

"I'll agree to that," Kara muttered. She'd been at the receiving end of her adopted mother's wrath one too many times.

"And she's not the most patient…or maybe that's just our version," Dusk added.

Ultimus shook his head in agreement, before suddenly freezing, and then paling significantly. Dusk bit her lip and started snickering, prompting the others looked to look at the young Prime confused.

"Somebody's in trou-ble," Dusk sang, smirking.

Ultimus shrank down as if he was being yelled with, and the gears clicked in Jacks head. Elita was contacting, that is yelling, at Ultimus via bond. So he was experiencing the wrath that Jack himself would likely face once he returned to base. Fantastic.

Ultimus sudden;y let out a soft whimper of fear and slumped on his crutches. Jack, Arcee, and Kara could only guess what was said. But the Prime pretty much summed it up in six words.

"Mom is ticked," he muttered, "We're so dead,"

"I believe she was yelling at you, dear brother," Dusk smirked.

"She says you're in trouble too," Ultimus pointed out.

Dusk pulled a face, "Frag," she growled.

Ultimus straightened up on his crutches and started down the stairs "Let's get back to base…before they get even madder," he suggested.

"Good idea," Dusk nodded, and started after him.

Kara followed suit with Jack close behind while Arcee walked next to him, entwining her servo in his hand, "Feeling better?" she whispered into his ear.

He smiled, "Much. Thank you."

She kissed him on the cheek, "Anytime.

_Autobot HQ…_

As soon as the five returned to the base, Dusk shot up into the rafters where Elita couldn't get her, Kara following suit. Jack and Ultimus weren't so lucky.

Ultimus got marched over to the med bay and forced down on a berth so that Ratchet could check to see if he had damaged his leg further. Jack received a similar treatment from his mother, who proceeded to check over his injury to make sure he somehow hadn't hurt his indestructible skin.

Then they both got an earful from their respective mothers.

Elita started yelling at Dusk too…but all she got was how irresponsible she had acted and that the halfling was grounded 'til she was a century old…

Silver did step in and remind Elita that Dusk was her daughter, but… she still wound up grounded regardless. Jack got away with a luckier sentence of simply being restricted to the base for the rest of the day. Long as he had Arcee, he could live with that.

Once all groups were respectively punished though, the majority of the Autobots and their counterparts, along with Malthanis, J'onn, and STRIPE returned with all they could salvage from the remains of Outpost Omega.

"So what'd you guys find!?" Both Miko's asked, Miko II bounding down the stairs, Miko using her sonic powers to jump from the upper platform and land with a quiet thud.

Optimus transformed, leaving his trailer on the floor, "Unfortunately, the majority of the relics were taken by the Decepticons after the initial destruction of our base, along with our main stores of Energon." he replied sadly, and opened the trailer, revealing several stacks of glowing Energon.

"However," Optimus II added, "it appears that your emergency stores were well hidden. This Energon is enough to last a full year."

**"Fair news indeed," **Malthanis said, materializing on Wheeljack's shoulder (during the battle he had been assisting the wrecker in luring the Team Prime clones into an explosive trap that went off flawlessly), **"We also managed to find a single relic, though I could not discern its purpose."**

All eyes turned to Optimus, who reached into the trailer, and pulled a large circular sphere, large enough to fit two or three humans inside, and set it on the floor with a clank. Immediately Miko scrambled away from the device while Jack glared at it darkly.

"Why the pit did that… that… _thing_ have to survive!?" the girl demanded, staying _far _away from it.

Everyone looked at her confused, "Uh, what exactly is this _thing_?" her counterpart asked, approaching it.

Miko grabbed her counterparts arm and wrenched her back, "Don't go near it! That is the most evil thing ever built by Kryptonians! EVER!"

The looks of confusion did not disappear, and Kara sighed, "That is a Kryptonian gender swap device. It does exactly what it sounds like it does. It swaps genders."

Team Prime nodded as they remembered what had happened with the device, while Jack continued to glare at it with utter hate. Team Prime II however, looked more confused than ever.

"Why would you have one of those?" Dusk asked, frowning.

"Better question," Sean added, "Why is Miko avoiding it like the plague?"

That got a chuckle out of June, "Because Miko is the second person to have suffered through that thing. Right Mako?" she laughed, looking at the girl whose face turned scarlet red.

"I thought we agreed to never speak of that again!" she yelled back.

"Wait, you got turned into a dude!?" her counterpart looked utterly shocked while Miko turned brilliant red.

"Yes, she did." Kara muttered, "And it was the worst two days of her and my life."

"I said I was sorry! I couldn't control the hormones!"

Kara glared at her, "Didn't stop you from oggling me, did it!?"

"Woooow," Dusk said as Miko turned a bright tomato red.

"OK! Off that subject!" Amber said quickly, before smirking, "So…based on the way Kal is glaring at it…he became Jacklyn?" she asked.

Ultimus started coughing hard, making Elita whack his back to get him to breathe again. Jack meanwhile glared heatedly at Amber, his face turning a shocking shade of red.

"So is that a yes?" the girl asked innocently.

"We never speak of that. Ever." the teen growled.

"Ha! I knew it!" Amber yelled triumphantly.

Jacks eye twitched while June shuddered, "Yes, let's not talk about that please. I still have nightmares."

"You get nightmares just from Kal being a girl?" Elita asked, confused by such a thing.

Miko laughed, her embarrassment forgotten for a moment, "Well see, it wasn't just _any _girl. We're talking full on supermodel here, double D's and everything."

Everyone looked at Jack shocked, while his face turned an even deeper red, "It was an accident." he muttered.

"Oh really?" June said, hands on her hips. Jack gulped.

"And was what I saw you and Arcee doing in your room an 'accident'?"

"MOM!"

"JUNE!"

Both parties looked utterly mortified by June revealing her stumbling onto them during Jacks last night as a female. Team Prime II looked utterly stunned, and a few looked about ready to faint.

"Wait…" Arcee II said, "You two… While he was…"

"Yeah, they did." June answered for her.

There was a sound of sparking as Elita, Arcee II, Optimus II, and Ultimus went down in a shower of sparks and a simultaneous crash.

**A/N: Well this was a ton of fun to write, and we got it out quick too. But what did you guys think of it, hmm? Did you like, dislike, or just think it was okay? Let me know and why in the reviews. On a little sidenote, after the next chapter, I plan on updating ONE of my fics. Which one? Well ,that's a mix of my personal opinion, and your guys say. Tell me in review or PM which one to update (as my treat to you all for your loyalty and support) and the majority one might be updated. And I mean ALL my stories, even the ones i have not updated in months. Any story, you name it, I'll consider it. Remember to review and PM, and make sure to give Elhini's half of the story a look too, it's just as good. Bye!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Party Time

_Autobot HQ…_

Several minutes after Junes rather horrifying revelation, the bots that had glitched came to began recovering. Arcee and Jack, however, were still mortified. Kara smirked at the looks on their faces. Though judging from the look on Dusks face, she was pretty close to glitching too.

June herself seemed to regret saying that, and hoped things would get out of a less touchy subject. Kara however, "What was it you said you saw them doing? Something called '69'?" she giggled.

Dusk paled and the others looked at Jack and Arcee in shock, again.

"KARA JOR-EL DARBY!" Jack screeched, his face turning almost as red as his cape.

"And that's not the worst part..." Arcee said, her faceplate buried in her hands.

The others looked at her confused, and seeming to debate if they should ask.

Arcee elaborated, "Because as soon as she realized what she'd walked in on, the first words out of her mouth weren't an apology. They were _advice_."

"What kind of advice?" Smokescreen asked, naively.

Everyone looked at the bot as if he were an idiot. Which, given what he asked, was not too far from the truth.

Kara grinned "How to properly provide oral stimulation to a female." Kara said, her eyes shining with mirth.

"What's that?" Avalon asked innocently, earning a glare from Silver and Michael directed at Kara.

Dusk shuddered and shook her head of the image. But it was too late. Apparently the rest of her family felt the images over their bond, as Ultimus, Optimus II, Elita-1, Bumblebee II, Arcee II, Silver, Michael, Xavier, and Ben all collapsed in a shower of sparks.

Dusk started swaying back and forth on the rafter, and pulled her knees to her chest and continued rocking back and forth as Kara leaned in to support her and keep her from falling off the rafter.

All the while she squeaked, "_I'm in my happy place! I'm in my happy place! I'm in my happy place!_"

Kara patted her shoulder before Dusk glared at her, "That was something I did _not_need to know!" Dusk hissed before shuddering.

Jack and Arcee meanwhile, where engaged in a conversation via bond _'I thought you said June wouldn't mention it to anyone!'_Arcee screamed her embarrassment painfully obvious.

_'I thought she wouldn't! How was I suppose to know she'd blab to Kara!?'_Jack replied, his face still remaining bright red.

Arcee's optic twitched, and Jack sensed her annoyance. Realizing it could be bad, he looked at Kara and June, face still red, "Can we please stop talking about my sex life!?"

June snickered at her sons reaction, "Sorry Jack, I've been holding onto that bit of information for too long. This seemed like the perfect time to use it," she collapsed into laughter, "And judging by your faces, it was!"

"You're sadistic June, you realize that, right?" Arcee said dryly.

June shrugged, "This was a bit of information some of us didn't need to know Nurse Darby," both Ratchets growled.

The others that hadn't fainted nodded, "There is such a thing as TMI…" Miko groaned, "Thanks for the mental image, I feel like I'm going to hurl."

"Serves you right," Ultimus growled, heaving himself back up as he recovered from his glitching. The others not too far behind him, "After all the teasing you did, you'd deserve it."

"Oh lighten up Jack," Amber said, crossing her arms, "You need to learn when to relax and party."

Ultimus glared at her, but never got a chance to get into an argument with her, as June interrupted him, "Wait, party!?" she yelped, reaching around her pockets, "I almost forgot!" she pulled an envelope out of her pocket.

Those not unconscious approached June cautiously. Jack was just glad that the subject of his personal life was out of the limelight. For now.

"What is it?" he asked.

June handed the envelope to her, "Not entirely sure, except that it's for you. And it's from Bruce Wayne."

Miko and Raf gasped, Raf's eyes going wide while Miko practically hopped up and down excitedly, "_The_Bruce Wayne! As in the famous billionaire playboy philanthropist hunk, Bruce Wayne!"

Jack read the address from the letter, "The one and the same," he muttered.

"What's he want?" Dusk asked.

"Uh, no," Sean said, "Better question, who is this guy?"

Miko and Raf looked at him like he was crazy, "You've never heard of Bruce Wayne?"

The brit crossed his arms, "No, I haven't. Pretty sure he doesn't exist in our dimension, right guys?" he looked to his friends for confirmation. They nodded, and Miko frowned.

"Okay, your dimension misses out on all the fun stuff." she muttered.

"Crazed criminal mastermind powered by Dark Energon," Dusk murmured, twirling a finger in the air, "Fun."

Miko ignored that comment and explained, "Bruce Wayne is like one of the richest men in the world, and owns Wayne Industries."

"They pretty much have their hands in everything, be it TV, scientific research, farming, charity, and infrastructure work," Raf added, "Ever since Mr. Wayne took over ten years ago, the companies become a household name. They produce _everything._And from what I've seen, Mr. Wayne is a very kind and charismatic man."

"And a total piece of eye candy," Miko sighed, earning a few confused looks from the others. Miko's crush on him was…. painfully obvious, to say the least.

"Okay…" Ben said wearily. He was holding his head, likely still trying to repress that conversation about Jacks personal life.

"No offense to Kal," he continued, "But why would he send a letter to him?"

"Probably a thank you note for saving his life a few months back," June answered, smiling at the memory of that fateful day.

Jack shrugged as he opened the letter, "It was nothing. There were a lot of people on that jet, I couldn't just let them crash."

"Dude, getting an F on a test is nothing, Vince insulting you is nothing, Waller is nothing," Miko listed off, "Saving the life of a gorgeous billionaire is NOT nothing."

Ignoring the comment, Jack removed the contents of the envelope and read the lines. He looked confused at first before understanding dawned on his face. The others started to crowd around him.

"So?" June asked expectedly, "What's it say?"

"Does he ask about me!?" Miko asked. She was ignored.

"It's… an invitation." Jack said, not believing what he was seeing, "An invitation for me and the Autobots to the 50th annual Gotham City ball."

Miko squealed, "Oh my god oh my god oh my god!" she was practically jumping up and down at this point, "That's the biggest party of the year, no the decade, no the century, no the millennium! Everyone whose anyone is invited to it. And we got an invitation!"

"Where's Gotham?" Dusk asked, scratching her head. The others nodded with her.

"Big city on the east coast," June explained while frowning, "Big chunk of it is pretty dingy, but… the downtown area is still awe-inspiring."

"I'd have thought Kal would have cleared it out by now," Kara noted, giving her brother a look.

Jack ignored it, re-reading the note, "I would, except I sorta have been told to stay away from the city."

"What, by who?"

His eyes flicked up at the others, "By him."

They all went silent while once again Team Prime II looked at them confused. A habit of theirs at this point.

"Who?" Ultimus asked.

"The Masked Manhunter," Miko murmured.

"The Caped Crusader." Raf added.

"The Dark Knight." June muttered, crossing her arms.

"Who are you talking about!?" the other team demanded.

"Batman." Jack answered, "The Dark Defender of Gotham City. Last time I was there, he warned me to stay out of Gotham. He doesn't want me attracting a super powered nut job to his city. I'm not stupid enough to argue with him, even with all my powers."

"Maybe he's someone not to mess with…if Kal's kinda afraid of him," Ultimus suggested.

Jack resisted the urge to correct him. He didn't stay out of Gotham because he was afraid of Batman. He stayed out of Gotham because the bat was right. Jack probably would attract some sort of super powered nut to the city. Something his conscience couldn't deal with.

Amber paled somewhat, "Well he sounds…nice?" she squeaked.

All eyes and optics turned to her.

"If Kal isn't about to argue with him…then I'm guessing it's like fighting with Dusk, Jack, and Optimus…" she sputtered, "You can't win,"

"Why don't we focus on something else than this…Batman," Elita said, "Kal, when is this party?"

Jack looked over the letter's details, checking for a date, "Tonight," he finally said.

"TONIGHT!?" Amber screeched, almost making him jump. Jack settled himself and sensed a hint of amusement from Arcee. Jack shot her a glare.

"How do you expect us to get ready for a party tonight!?" Amber demanded, "You do realize we all pretty much left everything on Cybres or Second Earth…right?"

"The invitation said for Kal and the Autobots," Ben pointed out, "Not us, Am,"

"If you think I'm going to stay here in the Base while the others go out and enjoy themselves," Amber growled, going up and pointing her finger in Ben's face, making him lean back, "You've got another thing coming!"

"I don't see what the problem is with you guys coming," Kal shrugged, "You're our guests,"

Amber gave a bright grin and looked at Dusk. She paled considerably and began scooting back onto the rafter.

"Oh Duuusk!" she crooned.

"If you think I'm coming off this rafter, think again," the halfling hissed, "I'm not going,"

"You don't have to take her shopping, Amber," Silver said, "I've got everything she needs for a formal with me,"

"How'd you know to bring it?" Dusk demanded from the rafter.

"I have my ways of knowing things," Silver replied slyly, "Amber, you take Miko, Elita and Miranda to get gowns, Dusk, you and Avi come with me,"

_'She's as bad as you,'_ Jack noted with amusement.

He sensed an indignant flicker from Arcee, _'What's_that _supposed to mean?'_

_'She likes being mysterious, that's all!'_he replied quickly.

_'Uh huh, right.'_

"Anyway," Jack said aloud, the others dissipating through the base to get ready, minus June, Kara, and Malthanis. Ratchet and Optimus returned to their work, of course. It didn't surprise Jack that neither had no interest in coming. Not with Void still in her coma.

"Are you going to come Arcee?" he asked her hopefully.

Arcee frowned, "That depends. Is this a black tie event?"

"Well…yes." Jack admitted, remembering her reaction last time.

"Then no." said the femme, "You're not getting me in a dress this time."

"Oh come on 'Cee," Jack pleaded, "It's going to be great, we'll get to spend some time together again, maybe dance."

Arcee didn't budge, and Jack sighed. He didn't want to do this, but…

"Please?" he begged, throwing her the sparkling eyes. He heard June and Kara chuckle, the latter descending from the rafters.

Visibly pausing, Arcee shook her head, "No Jack. Not this time."

"Arcee," he pleaded, keeping the eyes up.

Said femme closed her optics and sighed, "Fine, I'll come!" she exclaimed, throwing her servos in the air.

Jack pumped his fist in triumph, before Arcee glared at him, "_But_, only if you have a dress that fits. I'm not going shopping again."

That made the Kryptonian pause. Arcee's dress had been at his house…. which was nothing but ash now. Nothing left of it. The only thing he'd managed to salvage was the orb from Brainiac's ship, and the Key to Vector Sigma. Both were safely hidden in the fortress now, but that meant her condition couldn't be met…

June grinned, "Oh, is that all?"

Arcee eyed the woman warily, "June?"

"You mean the dress I brought with me?" she giggled.

If her jaw wasn't attached, it likely would be resting on the floor. So instead, Arcee just gaped, "You… actually saved it!?" she squeaked.

June grinned, "I didn't know for sure, but yeah, I did." She looked to Kara and Jack, "I also have something special for you two as well."

Jack cocked his head to the side, "What was wrong with the tux I wore last time?"

"You outgrew it, and it's fried." said June rather dryly.

Jack winced. During the dance he and Arcee had been too, Knockout had decided to test a new weapon on Jack and his sister. The result was a burn that ruined his tux, much to his mothers displeasure.

"Sorry about that." Jack apologized.

June shrugged, "No harm, this new one will fit you much better." she smiled, and looked to the two lovers, "Come on, let's get you two changed. Kara, you too."

The girls head whipped to the group as they began walking down one of three halls designated for quarters, "Be there in a minute," she called after them, before looking back at Malthanis.

"So…" she started, "Are you going to come with us to the party?"

The angel cocked his head to the side **"I am not an Autobot, I do not believe the invitation applies to me Kara."**

"I know, but I think it just means friends of Kal's." Kara explained, and looked down at her feet, "And it would be nice to have you tag along." she added quietly.

If Malthanis had lips, he'd be frowning, **"I do not believe that I would… belong, at a human party."**

Kara looked back up, "Well you did come here to learn about humans right? What's a better way than to see how they relax?"

**"I… do not know, Kara Jor-El."**the angel said. His wings sagged ever so slightly.

"Mal, it's just Kara," she reminded him, "And please? It would mean a lot to me."

Malthanis inwardly debated this for several moments before nodding, **"Very well,"**he agreed, **"If it will make you happy, I shall come."**

A smile lit up her face, "Thanks Malthanis!" she said happily, "I'll be back in a few minutes," she lifted off the ground, "I need to get changed."

Malthanis nodded and the girl departed. Both individuals feeling a warm feeling spreading through their chests.

_Later…_

"They're supposed to be here by now," Amber groaned, leaning her head on Sean's shoulder.

"You girls take forever to get ready," Sean muttered.

Every other male in the room looked at Sean like he was an idiot. Even if he was right. Amber smacked him in the shoulder with her sea green bag that matched her dress and eyes.

"Ok…I deserved that one," he grunted.

Jack and Ultimus both laughed.

Looking at the two of them, there were obvious differences. Jack was taller and more filled out than Ultimus (even though he had gone through a growth spurt and had filled out too). Ultimus' hair was slightly longer than Jack's, barely hiding an odd mark on his neck. But the eyes were probably the biggest difference.

Jack's were still the familiar stormy blue…

But Ultimus' were streaked with a bright royal blue now. It was an odd combination but it represented the two worlds he lived in. His stormy human eyes and his royal blue optics.  
The good thing was, Ratchet took Jack off the crutches and settled with putting him in a brace, which Jack hid under his pants' leg.

The young Prime was dressed in a standard black and white tux like most of the men in the room. The only exception of course, was Jack. June had had his suit custom tailored for him, and it was an impressive suit. Jack still wasn't sure where she'd gotten it from.

It looked like your standard tux, except it wasn't black. Depending on how the light hit it, the suit either glimmered a midnight blue, or a deep red. It almost looked black most of the time, but the light made it seem… alive. The vest he wore underneath was a deep blue as well, with a white button down shirt underneath it, and a silken red tie. Embroidered onto the tie was the crest of the house of El, in golden thread.

All in all, the suit was an impressive piece of work. Kara had yet to emerge from her room changed, and neither had Arcee or June, for their own reasons.

At the moment though, Ben turned to the hallway, and everyone else followed his gaze to see Silver, Avi and Dusk emerge from the hall.

Silver and Avalon came out first, both of them going to Michael and Xavier. Then Dusk came out and Ben's jaw dropped.

Miko II snorted with laughter, while Amber shut his jaw with an audible clop. The dress Dusk wore was stunning.

She was in a floor-length, fire-red, strapless gown. Her long hair was put up in a bun with two little curled rivulets streaming past her ears while tiny gold flowers and red gems peeped out of the silver-blond. A golden phoenix shone proudly as most of her bodice and the tail streaming down towards the hemline where there were tiny flame designs.

Put simply, she looked like royalty. Stunning royalty.

"What do you think?" she asked, looking at her fiance nervously.

"Um…ah…" Ben looked dumbstruck, inciting a chuckle from Jack. He knew all too well how Ben felt.

Ultimus gently elbowed him in the side, making him jump, "I think I know how Prince Charming felt when he saw Cinderella for the first time," He finally blurted out.

She gave a smile, "I won't be leaving by midnight,"

"And I'm not a prince,"

"You were going to be," she replied sadly.

Ben walked up to her and stroked her cheek.

"Let's not worry about that," he told her, "Let's have some fun tonight,"

"We would" Amber growled, "If the others would hurry up!" she yelled down the hall.

"Arcee was being stubborn," Kara muttered, walking out into the hall. She wore a silken red dress that flowed down across the floor, with a strap tying around her neck. At her waist, the edges split apart like the blossoms of a flower revealing a shining blue under layer of her dress.

Her long black hair tumbled down her back and shone in the light. Kara hadn't cut it since Jack had found her, and her hair now draped down to the small of her back. She wore too red gloves that stretched to her elbows too, some sort of golden thread stitched into it. It took Jack a moment to recognize the writing as Kryptonian of some sort.

While not as stunning as Dusk, the girl was still a sight to behold.

"How do I look?" she asked, holding her arms out for all to see.

Amber moped, "You look fantastic," she mumbled.

Jack ignored her and approached his sister, "What did you mean by Arcee was being stubborn?"

"June spent a good two hours trying to convince her to let her do something with her hair. Arcee was very adamantly against it." Kara explained.

"Cybertronians have hair!?"

Kara ignored Miko II and Ambers shock, "Anyway, they're almost ready now."

**"As am I."**Malthanis said, landing behind Amber and Sean, making them jump.

"Uh, no offense big guy," both Miko's said at once, "But I think if you went to the party like that… people might start praising you as the messiah."

The angel said nothing, instead letting a glow surround his body. Everyone shielded their eyes for a moment, before the light died down. When they looked again, several of the female humans nearly fainted. Kara's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.

Malthanis had assumed a human form ( a form Kara had only seen once months ago), and looked, well, angelic. He had thick black hair that flowed down to his shoulder, evenly tanned skin, a strong but elegant jaw, and blue eyes speckled with gold. His skin was utterly smooth, without a single imperfection to be seen, and he stood a good seven feet, still towering over the other organics. And he was dressed in a tux that made his impressive form even more so.

"Will this form suffice?" the angel asked. While not as powerful as his true voice, there was a musical quality to his voice, a strength and… a feeling to it that made it sound both powerful, and kind. And it made Kara weak at the knee's.

"Yeah…" she squeaked, her eyes never leaving his form.

Jack chuckled along with several others at Kara's rather obvious attraction to Malthanis (though all the other girls except Dusk looked about ready to tackle the angel and never let him go).

The others began to talk while Kara continued to stare at Malthanis. Jack paid it no mind though, as he heard and sensed a familiar figure coming down the hall. Turning to face the hall exit again Jack smiled as his mother, in a knee length black satin dress, entered the room.

But it was the person following her that caught his attention. His smile never left his face at the sight of Arcee. She wore the same dress as that night many years ago. It just brushed the floor, and was colored the same blue as her armor with a pink band wrapped around her middle.

No sleeves were connected to the dress, letting her silver arms gleam in the light of the base. The dress lacked a back, allowing Arcee's winglets stretch and flex in the air, reacting to it kindly. And of course, her short cropped silver hair shone in the light too. While maybe not as stunning as Dusks or Kara's dress, it was a much simpler beauty.

And to Jack, neither of them held a candle to his beloved bond mate.

The femme apparently thought differently, as she seemed to glare at any and everyone _daring_them to make a comment on her dress. Jack ignored the glare and walked up to her, brushing a hand against her cheek.

He smiled, "You look beautiful Arcee."

She returned the smile, "And you look very handsome." Arcee suddenly frowned, "But you are never getting me into another dress, am I clear?"

Jack looked at her with an expression of doubt, "If you say so," he hummed.

"That is something I never thought I'd see." Amber noted, "Arcee in a dress."

The femme glared at her and she shrank down. Before anything could escalate though, Jack wrapped an arm around his date and tried to lead her away from the group until it was time to go. He didn't get far though before two massive walls of fur bounded into the base.

Krypto bounded in and nearly floored Jack while Sirius came up next to Dusk panting happily. Jack let out a surprise "Gah!" when the mountain of white fur nearly bowled him over and began to bathe his face.

"Krypto! Watch the suit!" he laughed, the dog sitting on his haunches and looking rather sheepish.

Jack stroked his dog behind his ears, getting a happy look from the dog, "I guess he missed you," Arcee noted.

"Guess he did." Jack admitted, looking into his dogs cobalt blue eyes. He could still see the sadness in his eyes, but that was overwhelmed by the joy the dog felt.

"At least he's not threatening Ultimus anymore." Miko noted.

The Kryptonian looked at her confused, "Threatening? Krypto?"

Seeing the looks on his friends faces, Jack looked at his counterpart, "Is this true?"

Ultimus scratched the back of his head while looking nervously at Krypto, "Well… yeah, he didn't like that I looked like you."

"I see." Jack narrowed his eyes and looked back at his dog. Almost immediately, the massive husk lowered his head and flattened his ears against his head.

Putting his hands on his hip, the super-powered teen looked down at his dog with disappointment, "Krypto, did you threaten Ultimus?" he scolded. Normally scolding a dog like that wouldn't get that much of a reaction.

Krypto though…

He hung his head and let out a whine, while looking up at his master rather pitifully, "Krypto," Jack warned, "You know we don't threaten our friends, do we?"

The dog shook its head, "That's what I thought. Now," he pointed at Ultimus, "Go apologize."

Still hanging his head, the dog didn't immediately pad over to Ultimus. He disappeared in a flash of white for a moment, making the others look at where he'd been in confusion.

Jack just smiled, "Wait for it." he murmured.

A moment later there was a crash followed by yelling from both Ratchets. Then the big white dog trotted back into the main hall, carrying one of Ratchets wrenches in his mouth! Coming to a stop in front of Ultimus, he dropped it on the ground with a thud, and kept his head lowered while looking up at Ultimus with big puppy dog eyes.

It took the Prime a moment to realize what was happening before smiling and patting Krypto on the head, "It's okay. I forgive you."

Krypto barked happily and bounded up, licking Ultimus and leave his face soaked in saliva.

"Ugh!" Jack groaned, "Krypto!"

Sirius gave a bark and trotted over to Ultimus, determined not to be outdone by the large war hound…and my dog knocked Jack flat before licking his face.

"Agh! Guys!" Ultimus cried, "Dusk! Kal! Help!"

A shrill, high whistle cut through the air and both dogs jumped like they had been stung before racing over to Avi of all people. The tiny little Halfling laughed happily as both dogs clamored to get her attention. They both finally settled down when she rubbed them both behind the ears at the same time.

"Good boys," she cooed. Krypto and Sirius' tales thumped against the ground happily.

"Well," Dusk grinned as Sean helped Ultimus up, "At least you won't have to take a bath,"

Ultimus glared at her, clearly not amused.

"Great, we're going to a prestigious event and the guest of honor and his counterpart smell like dog," Miko grumbled.

"You want us to sick the dogs on you too?" Ultimus asked, eyes flashing dangerously, "I'm sure Krypto and Sirius would love that."

Miko glared at him coldly and Ultimus gave a very evil grin…it didn't take a genius to see that he was planning on getting even with the girl. And all things considered, that would end poorly for both parties.

_'What's up with him?'_ Jack asked Arcee via bond.

She shrugged _'Beats me, something probably happened between him and Miko. I wouldn't doubt it.'_

"Let's just go to the party before there's blood," Dusk suggested. The rest of the party nodded and turned to Ratchet and his counterpart.

Both of them decided they were staying behind saying and reasoning that, and I quote, 'There could be an incident and you would need to be Bridged back, how on Earth are you going to get back without someone standing by?'

Jolt was ordered to stay behind, much to his dislike, by Ratchet II. Wheeljack, Smokescreen, the Twins, and both Bulkheads also decided to stay back to keep Jolt company. Cliff was the only other 'Bot outside of the family to join the group. According to Elita, it was because of Arcee coming and he hoped to score a dance.

After that bit of information, Jack had watched the mech like a hawk, the waves of jealousy and protectiveness rolling off of him. To Arcee it was quite amusing to see him act like that, and took several minutes to convince him that she wasn't going to 'fall' for Cliffjumper. This was further reinforced when Ultimus turned Cliff human.

His human form was actually different than what one would have expected. Reddish-brown hair and a smooth, bronze complexion with the bright, glowing azure gaze that all the 'Bots had. Arcee II stood by Elita, the sisters wearing identically styled dresses although Arcee II's was deep blue (like Silver's only without the silver and the phoenix) and Elita's was a deep rose red, her longer black hair styled in an intricate braid while Arcee's shorter hair fell into her eyes. 'Bee II stood next to Optimus II, both of them in tuxes, 'Bee's tie was a bright sunny yellow while Optimus' was a deep red and Ultimus wore one that was dark blue.

Ratchet fired up the ground bridge and the entire group stepped through. They stepped out into a rather massive city. Skyscrapers towered over head, their massive glass sides glimmering in the night air. The occasional car, ranging from a luxury sedan to an old beater drove down the cracked asphalt roads.

The group only caught a glimpse though, as Ratchet had been smart enough to bridge them in an alleyway right next to their location the letter had told the group to meet at. Even if the bots were public icons, things like the ground bridge were still classified. So bridging into alleys was still a standard.

Looking around, Jack wrinkled his nose, "Now I remember why I fly _around_this city. The smog is awful."

Both Mikos snorted, "Spoken like a true country boy," Miko announced.

"Guess some things really are universal," her counterpart snorted. Ultimus shot her a glare while Kara frowned.

"Even Krypton didn't have cities_this_polluted," she commented. She was mostly ignored.

"Let's just go," Jack muttered, and the group exited the alleyway.

Almost immediately they saw a long stretch limo nestled nearby, a man in his late sixties early seventies standing by the door. He had thinning white hair and wore a monocle over his right eye. Basically, the man looked like your stereotypical butler. He took one look at the incredibly odd group and immediately perked up.

"I take it you are the Master Bruce's guests?" he asked with a faint British accent.

Jack nodded since he was at the head of the group, "We are. And you are?"

The older man bowed, "You may call me Alfred Pennsworth, I am Mr. Wayne's personal butler and assistant."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Pennsworth," Jack said, extending a hand.

The butler smiled and shook his hand, "Please sir, call me Alfred."

"Okay then Alfred," Jack said, "I take it you're our ride to the Gotham ball?"

Alfred nodded and approached the rear door of the limo, grabbing hold of the handle, "Master Bruce personally wished to meet you and your allies Mr. Darby." he opened the door and Miko nearly squealed before clamping both hands over her mouth.

A man in his mid thirties stood from the car, dressed in an expensive looking silk suit. He short jet black hair, a good even tan, strong jaw line, and his eyes were frosty blue. His body had a thick well toned appearance to it, hidden only by his tux. His thick build though was noticeable to anyone with two working eyes.

All in all, Bruce Wayne screamed 'attractive billionaire playboy philanthropist.' A fact not missed by any of the men or women present.

Smiling warmly, Mr. Wayne shook Jacks hand, "Mr. Darby. It's good to see you again." he greeted.

"Likewise Mr. Wayne," Jack replied. For the briefest of moments, the two exchanged looks. It was for but a split second, but Jack got the message. Bruce's 'friend' wanted to talk later.

Looking over at the rather large group assembled behind the Kryptonian, his smile did not falter, "And these are the famed 'Autobots' I've heard so much about?" he asked.

Jack looked over the rather large group assembled behind him and paused. He really wasn't sure exactly how to introduce them. Not one person in that group minus his date looked like an Autobot.

"Some of them, yes," Jack finally said.

Bruce frowned "I thought they would be…bigger,"

Jack looked at Ultimus, who just shrugged. shrugged. he couldn't help it if the guy was expecting something different. His whole family decided to be human instead of using the Mass Shifter.

"I'm Arcee," Arcee greeted, extending a servo "We've heard so much about you, Mr. Wayne,"

The billionaire looked up at her with a smile and shook her servo with gentle care, like it was a piece of china that might break if grabbed too tightly.

"The pleasure is mine, Arcee," he replied, then looked at the rest of the oddball group, "And would you mind introducing yourselves? I would like to know who we are taking to the party,"

Jack looked to the rest of the group, who seemed rather reluctant to move at first… until Kara and Malthanis moved to greet him.

Mr. Wayne took Kara rather well, saying that it was a pleasure to meet Jack's sister and complementing her dress but…it was Malthanis that got him.

The shock at meeting a seraph… well it was sorta expected. Though, other than a slight widening of the eyes and a tiny, barely noticeable step backwards…The billionaire did rather well handling the Seraph. At least he didn't keel over in a dead faint like some would.

June walked over next and extended her hand, "June Darby, I'm Jacks mother. A pleasure to meet you Mr. Wayne."

The billionaire smiled warmly and took her hand, "A pleasure to meet you as well Mrs. Darby," he greeted before kissing the top of her hand, "I figured that the one to raise someone like Jack would be a strong willed woman. I had not expected the same woman to be so… stunning."

The woman's cheeks flushed and she let out a small giggle, "Why Mr. Wayne.. you're too kind,"

Jack though… he watched the man with glowing red eyes, causing Ben to stifle a laugh. Dusk elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a disapproving glare.

"You have room to talk!" she snapped, "Mr. 'But Mom! You're lactose intolerant',"  
Raf and Amber started snickering while Dr. Williams muddied.

After June's introduction…no one else moved. And it stayed that way as Mr. Wayne's cool blue gaze scanned over the group.

Dusk apparently had had enough and she looked at Ultimus and then at Miko. Ultimus flashed his sister a grin and thye both gently shoved the sonic powered Miko towards Mr. Wayne. She gave a small 'eep' as she looked up into Mr. Wayne's frosty gaze.

"Um…I…I-I'm M-Miko N-Nakadai," she managed to squeak out.

Jack snorted at her reaction, trying hard not to laugh. Arcee elbowed him and he managed to keep it under wraps.

"A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Nakadai," Mr. Wayne smiled, and Miko went a little weak in the knees before Mr. Wayne turned to Dusk and her brother.

"Uh oh, busted," Miko II snickered.

Both the Prime and _Ivorra _shot her an icy glare, that the girly quickly quailed under.

"And who might you two be?" Bruce asked, eyeing Ultimus in particular, "Especially you,"

That frosty gaze pinned him down, but Ultimus stood firm. It was intense…but it had nothing over his fathers. Having Optimus as a dad… made you immune to glares.

"Since you look almost exactly like Mr. Darby," Mr. Wayne finished.

"That's because I am him," Ultimus replied, "I'm…just not from this dimension,"

A flicker of confusion passed through the icy gaze.

"My name is Jack Darby," the Prime told him, "But I am also called Ultimus Prime, son of Optimus Prime and Elita One, leaders of the Autobot faction,"

Bruce seemed confused by this, leaving Ultimus relatively befuddled. Until his parents came to the rescue.

"Jack has a unique gift among our kind, known as a Legacy," Optimus II explained, "He is able to manipulate the forms of those around him as well as himself. Hence why he, and many of us here, appear human but we are not,"

He gestured towards the humanized Autobots with a free hand, "And these are our family and team," he continued, "I am Optimus Prime, this is my mate and Jack's mother, Elita One, her sister, Arcee, my adopted son, Bumblebee, and our comrade, Cliffjumper,"

He pointed to each of them in turn.

Dr. Williams came up, followed by Raf II and Miko II.

"I'm Dr. Miranda Williams," Ben's mom said, before gently pushing Miko II and Raf II in front of her for their introductions.

"I'm Miko…just like her," Miko II jerked a thumb at her gawking counterpart before shoving Raf in front of her.

"Raf," he said, shaking his hand "Raf Esquivel,"

It was Sean and Ambers turn after that. They quickly introduced themselves before moving back and letting X and Avi come up.

X introduced himself and Avalon but Avi… she just stared at the billionaire. Not in curiosity or anything…just a cool silver-blue gaze that so did not fit a seven year old. Jack and Arcee watched the girl with curiosity.

"You see something Avalon?" Mr. Wayne asked, bending down to look at the tiny little halfling.  
Avi flashed him a brilliant smile.

"Nope!" she chirped and then skipped back to Silver and Michael, leaving Bruce a little confused.

"There is something different about that little girl," Ben muttered as he and Dusk stepped forwards.

"You have no idea," X mumbled.

No one quite knew what he meant and didn't have time to ask.

"Miss?" Bruce arched a brow and Dusk snapped her attention back to him.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized, "Dusk Greyman, soon to be Castora. It's a…nice…city you have here Mr. Wayne,"

Seems she had the same 'love' of cities that Jack had. Both of them found them noisy and… foul smelling.

Either way, Dusk stepped back and let her parents step forward to introduce themselves.

"Silver Greyman," Silver greeted, "High Queen of Cybres and more importantly, at least to me anyway, Xavier, Dusk and Avalon's mother,"

"Michael Greyman," Michael added, "High King of Cybres and Xavier, Dusk and Avalon's father,"

"It is very nice to meet you both, your majesties," Bruce bowed graciously, "But I've never heard of Cybres,"

"It's…far away from here," Silver winked at her family, who just smiled in return.

"Not very well known," Michael explained, "We tend to keep to ourselves,"

"I see, less trouble with foreigners that way," Bruce realized, "I can see why you would like your privacy. But…on that note…We have a party to get all of you to. Are you all ready?" he gestured to the limo

The group had no complaints, and within minutes they were cruising down the streets in a luxury limo. Jack smiled as he sat inside with his arm wrapped around Arcee. Tonight was looking alright…

_Gotham Ball…_

Several minutes later, the limousine pulled up in front of a towering skyscraper with a large red carpet rolled out from the entrance to the sidewalk. Hundreds of reporters crowded around the red carpet in a deafening roar, snapping pictures at every politician, business man, and celebrity that walked down the carpet.

The large group looked out the limos tinted windows at the massive crowd of people. It was… a little overwhelming to say the least. Jack sank into his seat at the sight of so many reporters.

"Great," he muttered, "paparazzi."

Miko chuckled, "What did you expect? This is like the biggest event in the country, and you're showing up with a multi-millionaire!"

"Actually, it's billionaire," Bruce corrected as the door opened, "Millionaires are so last year,"

The billionaire offered a hand to June, who graciously took it. Holding his arm out, the two walked down the red carpet while Jack watched them like a hawk.

_'I think he has the hot's for my mom…' _he muttered over bond.

Arcee just chuckled and dragged Jack out of the limo, "Come on Jack, stop focusing on everyone else for once and focus on us." she ordered as the two stood out of the limousine.

And the reporters went fragging wild!

Cameras flashed and the two were nearly drowned in a sea of questions from hundreds of reporters at once. Narrowing his eyes, the two started forward, the rest of the group following out of the limousine. But the reporters cared little for them. They only cared for four people.

Jack, Arcee, Kara, and Malthanis. The two Kryptonian siblings and their 'dates'.

"Quite the… pop star aren't you Kal?" Ultimus asked as he Dusk and Ben caught up with the two.

Jack frowned, "Unfortunately. Word of advice Ultimus, if you ever use your powers to help people, for the love of god wear a mask."

Ultimus looked at his counterpart with sympathy, before a new noise overtook them both. It sounded like the noise rabid fans made. The sound of a dozen fangirls squealing in joy.

Jack swiveled his head near the end of the red carpet and paled, "No… no way. How the pit did they find me!?"

Everyone followed his gaze to something Jack thought he'd never see again. Over two dozen girls, all from Jacks school stood at the edge of the velvet rope. But that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that they all wore shirts with his family crest on it and held posters that read 'We love you Superboy,' and 'Superboy 4 ever' and 'Will you marry me!?'.

And who should be leading the charge, but Sierra, who stood in the background, her brown eyes locked onto Jack. The teen shielded his face as they walked.

Dusk frowned, "Uh… who are they? And why is Sierra with them?"

Jack felt his face heat up "They're my fan club." he muttered.

"I'm sorry… what?"

"From school… Sierra founded a fan club. She's been trying to get her claws into me for half a year now." Jack explained.

He saw Ultimus looking at the group, and wrenched the Primes head down, "DO NOT MAKE EYE CONTACT!" he hissed, "If they see you, they might go into a frenzy. They could barely handle one Jack, how do you think they'd react to two!?"

"Imagine baby brother getting the tux ripped off his back?" Dusk whispered to Ben, who chuckled.

Ultimus and Jack glared heatedly at her, "Not. Funny," they growled, eyes flashing.

"Just keep going," she told them, "Once we're inside…it'll calm down,"

Sighing, Jack continued forward, Arcee interlocking her arm with his. They entered a rather luxurious lobby, and saw that most everyone was heading to two gleaming elevator directly across from the entrance. Shrugging, the group made their way into the elevator, barely taking time to note the details of the lobby.

The ride up was quick and fairly quiet, the large group having to go five at a time. In this case, Jack, Arcee, Ben, Dusk, and Ultimus took the second elevator up. When the doors chimed open though, jaws dropped…

Apparently the party was being held on a rather large rooftop overlooking the city. The roof overlooked dozens of skyscraper's, Gotham's lights glistening in the darkness, the smell of pollution significantly less so than before.

But the party? Oh the party!

Dozens of tables, each laden with foods of all shapes, sizes, and smells were pressed against the edges of the roofs, dozens more resting in a large depression in the center of the roof, while two flattened areas, the dance floor, rested to the right and to the left. A large stage stood near the edge of the roof, and hundreds of party goers moved from place to place across the roof, their elaborate outfits fluttering or shining in the breeze.

Seeing the dance floor, Dusk and Ben nearly instantly vanished towards it, and Ultimus… Jack had no idea where he wandered off too. What he did know though, was that it was just him and Arcee now.

"So," the femme started, smiling, "We're finally here, you managed to get me into a dress, and there are two free dance floors. What do you want to do?"

Jack looked at the dance floors and smiled, "Care to dance?" he asked.

"I'd love too." she replied, and the two made their way to the dance floor. Starting at the edge, the two began a simple waltz through the crowds of people.

At first, they seemed to blend in fairly well. But… well Arcee wasn't exactly a normal looking woman. Soon, the crowds parted, and the two aliens, one Cybertronian, one Kryptonian, danced in the middle of the dance floor.

Arcee didn't care, she was just happy to have her Jack back. They had endured so much suffering, fought for so long that this… it just felt right.

She rested her head on Jacks shoulder as they danced, her winglets twitching and flexing in the cool night air. A happy purr emanated from Arcee's chest.

"Happy?" Jack asked as they danced.

"Very," she replied, nuzzling his neck, "It's been too long since we just got to enjoy our company together."

"Hmmm… you make a good point," he murmured. With all the chaos that had gone on lately, neither of the two got to be together as they were used to. This was a nice change of pace, something the rest of the team seemed to enjoy.

The Autobots were scattered amongst the roof, some dancing together, some sneaking snacks, some watching from the sidelines. The humans were even more scattered, in fact Jack only got the briefest of glimpses at any of them, though he thought he saw Dusk and Ben for a moment.

What he did see though, was Bruce Wayne walking towards them, a serious expression on his face. Reluctantly, Jack came to a stop, earning a confused look from Arcee. He pointed at Mr. Wayne, and she nodded, walking off to find June and let the two men speak.

"Mr. Wayne," Jack greeted.

"Mr. Darby," He replied, before leading him off the dance floor.

Once they were in a relatively secluded area, Jack looked at the man, who was about eye level with him, "So, is there more to this invite then meets the eye?" the Kryptonian asked.

Bruce looked around for a moment before nodding, "Yes, two reasons." he looked around again before returning his attention to Jack, "The first, what the hell happened in Jasper?"

Jack sighed, he had a feeling this would be coming, "Simply put? A series of unfortunate events that lead to the Decepticons establishing a base in Nevada and my capture by the criminal mastermind Slade." he visibly shuddered at the memories that flashed through his mind.

"I see," Bruce frowned, "And obviously this isn't the case any longer."

"No, it's not," Jack answered, before frowning himself, "But what's the real reason you invited us?" he demanded.

Bruce never got a chance to answer, as Dusks mother suddenly approached them with a worried expression, "Mrs. Greyman," Jack greeted, "Something wrong?"

"Have you seen Avalon?" she asked, trying and failing to keep the tears out of her voice, "She…She's disappeared and I can't find her. Kal-El, Mr. Wayne…please, tell me you've seen her somewhere!?"

Looks of worry crossed over Jack and Bruce's face. A small child loss at a party as large as this? That did not bold well. For anyone. Silver saw said looks and buried her face in her hands, suppressing a sob.

Jacks features softened and he put a hand on her bare shoulder. The worried mother looked up at him and he smiled, "We'll find her, don't worry," he told me.

"I will help," Mr. Wayne started, before an attendant approached him and whispered something in his ear.

He let out a frustrated sigh and raised a finger, "Just let me give an announcement first and I'll help,"

"Thank you," Silver breathed, taking his hand and shaking it gratefully, "Both of you, thank you so much!"

Bruce gave a soft smile before heading onto the stage. He took a position behind the podium, and the crowd of people fell silent as he tapped on the microphone

"Good evening, ladies and gentleman," he greeted warmly, "I would like to welcome you all to the Annual Gotham Ball! Every year we all gather here to celebrate the day our fine city was-"

He was cut off as an explosion of smoke hit him, knocking him to the side of the stage. The smoke billowed up and the lights on the roof shut off for a moment, inciting panicked screams from the crowd.

Then, an eerie maniacal laugh sounded from the smoke, "hehehe hahahaha HAHAHAHAHA!"

The lights flickered back on and the smoke cleared to reveal an odd site. A man, standing about 6 feet tall stood at the podium. His skin was snow white, and his lips were ungodly red. He had short dark green hair slicked back on his head, and wore a purple and green suit. His face consisted of a pointed nose and unnaturally wide smile.

The screams did not cease, and the man looked over the audience with that creepy grin before waving enthusiastically, "Hello Gotham! Ol' Jokers back in town!" his voice was high pitched and scratchy.

Bruce looked at the man in shock, before he noticed someone standing by Jokers side.

Avalon stood by his side, her hand gripped in Jokers, tears running down her face. The Joker seemed oblivious to this though and continued to laugh and look at the audience. He did wrench Avalon into plan view of everyone else though, inciting gasps from them all.

"Now before I begin, I would like to ask, did someone lose this poor little bird?" he asked, stroking her feathers. The crowd was silent and his smile diminished.

"No one!? Really!?" he puckered his lips and made a tsking sound, "Well isn't that a shame. But hey! I always did want to adopt!"

"Stay away from my daughter you freak!" Silver hissed, jumping onto the stage.

The Joker laughed, "Oh hello pot, this is kettle, I'd just like to call and let you know that you're black," he chuckled, "I take it this little one belongs to you?" he asked, swinging Avalons arm around.

Silver drew her sword, "Let. Her. Go." she repeated, eyes narrowed.

Joker laughed again, before pointing a pistol at Silvers face, making her freeze, "Darling, hasn't anyone told you not to point sharp objects at people, you could poke an eye out!"

"You think that peashooter scares me clown!?" Silver demanded.

"What, this?" Joker asked, before pulling the trigger.

There was a sound of streamers and a red flag popped out with the word _bang _written in all caps.

"This is just a gag." he said dismissively, before grinning and pressing the trigger again, "_This _is the real show!" he announced.

A stream of gas slammed into Silver and knocked her into the crowd, with a thud. The crowd parted while the bots and her family crowded around her. Jack joined with them, getting near Silver.

"Mom, mom!" Dusk asked frantically, trying to see if she was alright.

Silver looked around wearily before…

"Heh…hehehe…hehehehe….hahhaahahaha!HAHA!HAHA!HAAHAAAHA!" she started laughing uncontrollably great heaving laughs like she'd just heard a great joke. Except when you looked at her eyes… All you saw was that she was pleading with them to make her stop. The gas… it was making her laugh!

"What's wrong with her!?" Michael demanded.

"The gas," Kara said, holding Silver down while she laughed, "it's some sort of neurotoxin that causes uncontrollable laughter. Literal laughing gas."

The group glared up at the Joker who twirled the gas pistol innocently.

"Now isn't that better?" Joker cooed as Silver continued to laugh uncontrollably, "Now then, back to business," he dropped the pistol and pulled out a sub machine gun and fired it into the air, making everyone drop to the floor.

At the same time, the elevators opened and several dozen henchman armed with rifles and wearing clown masks ran out into the roof, surrounding the crowd and arming their rifles.

"And in case any Kryptonians want to play hero," Joker added, before grabbing Avalon rather roughly and pointing the submachine gun at her head, "If you get near me or the boys, well, let's just say this little birdy won't be flying anytime soon."

Jack clenched his fists and scowled. With everyone at gun point including Avalon… he had to wait for his chance. And the Joker knew it.

A few more tears streamed down Avalon's pleading face while the Joker tilted back his head… and laughed.

"heeheeheeheehee,hehehehehehehe,hahahahahahaha HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

**A/N: Okay, be honest, who didn't see this coming? It was obvious right? It had to be. Anyway, if your wondering which Joker I am using, I am of course using the best one, Mark Hamills. Why? Because he is the best Joker and Heath Ledgers was awful! He was just your standard psychopath! Nothing really FUNNY about him, he just scared the crap out of everyone. Rant aside though, sorry this chapter took so long. There were a lot of issues on both ends that stopped us from writing. BUT I do have an announcement to make. Two actually. The first is that the story I am updating next is at the moment a tie between Will of the Primes, Son of Primus, Techno Organic Synthesis, and Dark of the Night. So tell me in the reviews which one you want me to update next. And the second announcement is that friend and fellow author Riyappe Paws actually took up my art commision and is drawing up covers for each of my stories! If you want to see her work, check out Dark of the Night or her Deviant Art page. Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, remember to review and critique. Bye!**


End file.
